Iranian Reformers Hail Nobel Prize Winner

Friday, October 10, 2003

(4:16 PM ET)

By Brian Murphy

Associated Press Writer

“There is no difference between Islam and human rights, therefore, the religious ones should also welcome this award. The prize means you can be a Muslim, and at the same time have human rights.”

-- Shirin Ebadi

Iranian lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi, smiles as she gets a bouquet of flowers prior a press conference in Paris, Friday, Oct. 10, 2003. Ebadi has been awarded on Friday the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her focus on human rights, especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.

Image Credit: Francois Mori -- AP

TEHRAN, Iran -- AP
Moments after learning Friday that Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the mother of the Iranian human rights lawyer prayed to Allah. Ebadi's husband, too, gave thanks for what may lie ahead.

“The reform movement is reborn,” said Javad Tavassolian, the husband of Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the peace prize.

Ebadi - who also is Iran's first female judge - was hailed around the world as a courageous champion of political freedom after the Norwegian Nobel Committee honored her for promoting peaceful and democratic solutions in the struggle for human rights.

The prize, announced Friday in Oslo, Norway, also gave hope to the dispirited reformers challenging Iran's ruling clerics that the 56-year-old lawyer's newfound clout and international stature may breathe life into their tired ranks.

“This prize doesn't belong to me only. It belongs to all people who work for human rights and democracy in Iran,” Ebadi said in Paris, where she was attending a conference.

Ebadi, who was jailed for three weeks in 2000, has been a forceful advocate for women, children and those on the margins of society.

“As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, far beyond its borders,” the Nobel committee said in its citation.

Reformers in Iran may now expect even more: a firebrand willing to directly battle the powerful theocracy in the model of other history-shaping Nobel laureates such as Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa.
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2003 © The Associated Press.

Dan