Women’s rights activist
Nobel Peace Prize for Iranian Narges Mohammadi
Narges Mohammadi applauds at a meeting about women’s rights on July 3, 2008 in Tehran. photo
© Vahid Salemi/AP/dpa
“Woman, life, freedom”: Against all resistance from the state, women in Iran are fighting for their rights. The imprisoned Narges Mohammadi is one of the movement’s most prominent voices. She is now receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous efforts.
The imprisoned women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi from Iran will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year. 20 years after her compatriot Shirin Ebadi received the award, Mohammadi receives the prestigious award “for her fight against the oppression of the Women in Iran and their fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced this on Friday in Oslo. Mohammadi is the 19th woman to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize and the second from Iran.
Since her time as a student around three decades ago, Mohammadi has led a life with a “calculated risk,” said the chairwoman of the Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, when the prize was announced. Her courageous fight came at enormous personal cost; she was arrested a total of 13 times and convicted five times. The combined sentences were 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. “As I speak, Ms. Mohammadi is still in prison,” the Norwegian summed up.
Reiss-Andersen made it clear that the Nobel Prize also honors the entire movement that brought hundreds of thousands of people to protest on the Iranian streets under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” “This award is, first and foremost, a recognition of the very important work of an entire movement in Iran with its undisputed leader Narges Mohammadi,” said Reiss-Andersen.
Release demanded
Mohammadi is one of the best-known human rights activists in Iran. The 51-year-old is currently serving a long prison sentence in the notorious Ewin Prison in Tehran. In late 2022, during the nationwide uprising against Iran’s power apparatus, Mohammadi brought to light a report that revealed alleged torture of dozens of women in the maximum security prison.
While in prison, she repeatedly managed to give interviews to international media or publish letters. “The more of us they lock up, the stronger we become,” was her message in an op-ed in The New York Times published on the first anniversary of the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in September.
Statement from prison
This time too, she seemed to be able to communicate with the outside world despite her imprisonment. “I will never stop fighting for the realization of democracy, freedom and equality,” the New York Times quoted from a statement. She will continue to “fight against the repressive religious government’s relentless discrimination, tyranny and gender-based oppression until women are liberated.”
It was unclear whether the statement came from Mohammadi herself or was released by her family. It also remained unclear whether and how she received the news of her award: The Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that Mohammadi had not yet been allowed to make phone calls outside the country, but that the news had been delivered to her in prison “in some way.”
Amini’s death triggered the uprisings in Iran
The uprisings in Iran were triggered by the death of Amini in September 2022. Islamic moral watchdogs arrested the then 22-year-old because she was allegedly wearing a headscarf incorrectly. What exactly happened afterwards remains unclear to this day – Amini ultimately fell into a coma and died in a hospital. As a result, young people in particular took to the streets against the repressive policies of the Islamic leadership. The protests were violently suppressed and seven men were executed. As a sign of silent protest, many women still ignore the obligation to wear a headscarf.
Now the most prestigious political prize in the world is shedding new light on the situation of women in Iran. Following the Nobel Prize announcement, the United Nations called for the release of Mohammadi and all imprisoned human rights defenders in Iran. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized: “This Nobel Peace Prize is a tribute to all women who fight for their rights at the risk of their freedom, their health and even their lives.” Mohammadi was congratulated from all over the world. “Despite all the personal hardships and your own imprisonment, you continue to raise your voice against the oppression of women,” said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The price also went to prison last year
Last year, the Belarusian Ales Bjaljazki, an imprisoned champion of human rights, was among the prize winners. At the time, he received the Nobel Peace Prize together with the human rights organizations Memorial from Russia and the Center for Civil Liberties from Ukraine. Mohammadi and Byaljazki had in common that they fought for basic human rights and lost everything for it, said Reiss-Andersen. “They are isolated from family, friends, the rest of the world. We can hardly imagine the cost to them personally,” she said.
The Nobel Prizes go back to the will of the dynamite inventor and prize donor Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). This year they are endowed with eleven million Swedish crowns (around 950,000 euros) per category, one million crowns more than in previous years. They are traditionally presented on December 10th, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. It is questionable whether the Iranian leadership will allow Mohammadi to travel to Oslo or whether her chair will remain empty at the award ceremony. “If the Iranian authorities make the right decision, then they will release her so that she can receive this honor,” Reiss-Andersen said.