Iranian women's rights activist barred from travel to Sweden
By Nasser Karimi

March 3, 2008 (THE ASSOCIATED PRESSI) An Iranian women's rights activist has been barred from travelling to Sweden to receive a prize from her work.
Parvin Ardalan is scheduled to receive the 2007 Olof Palme award in Stockholm this week.

But Ardalan says she was told just before her departure on a flight to Stockholm on Sunday that she would not be allowed to leave Iran.

The 36-year-old Ardalan is one of a number of activists leading a campaign demanding the Iranian government change laws that discriminate against women.

Activists say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has tried to roll back rights won by women in past years and has cracked down on women's rights activists.

The Swedish award is endowed by the family of the late prime minister Olof Palme, who was murdered in central Stockholm on Feb. 28, 1986. The prize, which carries a cash stipend of $75,000, is typically presented by Palme's widow Lisbet.

"Despite this, the prize ceremony will be held as planned" on Thursday, said Pierre Schori, chairman of the Olof Palme memorial fund. "We expect the Iranian government to reconsider its decision and allow Parvin Ardalan to leave Iran and come to Stockholm to receive the prize."

In a statement, the fund said Ardalan had already boarded an Air France plane when two security agents ordered her to disembark.

Ardalan told The Associated Press that the travel ban may be linked to the upcoming international Woman's Day, on March 8.

"Usually near March 8, pressure on women activists increases," she said. "They (authorities) do not issue gathering permit, they do not allow public halls to host women's gatherings, too."

Iranian officials did not immediate reply to requests for comments on the ban on Ardalan.

Ardalan, a columnist in women's publications, is the co-founder of a campaign aimed at gathering one million signatures in favour of equal rights for women.

In its citation, the prize committee said Ardalan "has succeeded in making the demand for equal rights for men and women a central part of the struggle for democracy in Iran."

"Despite persecution, threats and harassment, Parvin Ardalan has been persistent in her struggle and never compromised her ideals," the citation added.

From:http://cnews.canoe.ca:80/CNEWS/World/2008/03/03/4894021-ap.html