Historical Figure
Shirin Ebadi
b. 1947
Iranian-British lawyer, activist (born 1947)
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Biography
Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian Nobel laureate, lawyer, writer, teacher and a former judge and founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pioneering efforts for democracy and women's, children's, and refugee rights. She was the first Iranian to receive the award.
In Their Own Words (5)
Any person who pursues human rights in Iran must live with fear from birth to death, but I have learned to overcome my fear.
From 1999 interview. , 1999
I compare my situation to a person on board a ship. When there is a shipwreck the passenger then falls in the ocean and has no choice but to keep swimming. What happened in our society was that the laws overturned every right that women had. I had no choice. I could not get tired, I could not lose hope. I cannot afford to do that.
From 2006 interview with Ebadi by Harry Kreisler (translator, Banafsheh Keynoush) about her newly released book, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. , 2006
In the last 23 years, from the day I was stripped of my judgeship to the years of doing battle in the revolutionary courts of Tehran, I had repeated one refrain: an interpretation of Islam that is in harmony with equality and democracy is an authentic expression of faith. It is not religion that binds women, but the selective dictates of those who wish them cloistered. That belief, along with the conviction that change in Iran must come peacefully and from within, has underpinned my work.
: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope, '', 2006, p.204. , 2006
In my memoir, I wanted to introduce American women to Iranian women and our lives. I'm not from the highest echelons of society, nor the lowest. I'm a women who is a lawyer, who is a professor at a university, who won the Nobel Peace Prize. At the same time, I cook. And even when I'm about to go to prison, one of the first things I do is to make enough food and put it in the fridge for my family.
From 2006 interview with Ebadi by New America Media editor Brian Shott (translator, Banafsheh Keynoush) about her newly released book, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. , 2006
I, who have defended many prisoners of conscience such as the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders and others, would face unacceptable restrictions on my human rights work if I returned to Iran, if I were not arrested, now my own lawyer - who also represents many other activists - is detained, and her lawyer has been threatened with arrest for defending her. Where is the justice if your lawyer is arrested for defending you?
About the arrest of .
Timeline
The story of Shirin Ebadi, told in moments.
Became the first woman to serve as president of a Tehran city court. She was 28. Iran had few female judges at any level.
The Islamic Revolution stripped women of the right to serve as judges. Ebadi was demoted to a clerical position in the very court she had presided over. She couldn't practice law again until 1993.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work defending human rights, especially for women, children, and refugees in Iran. First Iranian and first Muslim woman to receive the prize.
Went into exile in London after the Iranian government cracked down on dissidents following disputed elections. Her Nobel medal and bank accounts were seized by authorities. She hasn't returned.
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