Iran’s Narges Mohammadi wins Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO,

IMPRISONED Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of her tireless campaigning for women’s rights and democracy and against the death penalty. Mohammadi, 51, has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. “This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with its undisputed leader, Narges Mohammadi,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who announced the prize in Oslo. She said the committee hopes the prize “is an encouragement to continue the work in whichever form this movement finds to be fitting.” She also urged Iran to release Mohammadi in time for the prize ceremony on December 10. For nearly all of Mohammadi’s life, Iran has been governed by a Shiite theocracy headed by the country’s supreme leader. While women hold jobs, academic positions and even government appointments, their lives can be tightly controlled. Laws require all women to at least wear a headscarf, or hijab, to cover their hair as a sign of piety. Iran and neighbouring Afghanistan remain the only countries that mandate it.

In a statement to The ‘New York Times’, Mohammadi said the “global support and recognition of my human rights advocacy makes me more resolved, more responsible, more passionate and more hopeful.” “I also hope this recognition makes Iranians protesting for change stronger and more organised,” she added. “Victory is near.” Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times and convicted five times, according to Reiss-Andersen. In total, she has been sentenced to 31 years in prison. Mohammadi’s most recent incarceration began when she was detained in 2021 after she attended a memorial for a person killed in nationwide protests sparked by an increase in gasoline prices.

She has been held at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, whose inmates include those with Western ties and political prisoners.

“The women of Iran have been an inspiration for the world. Their courage and determination in the face of reprisals, intimidation, violence, and detention have been remarkable,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN Human rights office in Geneva. “We call for her release and the release of all other human rights defenders detained in Iran.” Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second Iranian woman, after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the award in 2003. It’s the fifth time in the 122-year history of the awards that the peace prize has been given to someone who is in prison or under house arrest. Last year, the top human rights advocate in Belarus, Ales Bialiatski, was among the winners. He remains imprisoned. Mohammadi was behind bars for the recent protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. That sparked one of the most intense challenges ever to Iran’s theocracy. More than 500 people were killed in a heavy security crackdown while over 22,000 others were arrested. From behind bars, she contributed an opinion piece for The New York Times.