Title: Imprisoned Iranian Women’s Rights Campaigner Narges Mohammadi Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Subtitle: Norwegian Nobel Committee Honors Iranian Protesters and Calls for Mohammadi’s Release
OSLO, Oct 6 (Reuters) – In a move that is likely to anger the Iranian government, imprisoned women’s rights advocate Narges Mohammadi has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The prestigious award serves as a rebuke to Tehran’s theocratic leaders and provides a boost to the anti-government protesters in Iran.
The award-making committee explicitly stated that the prize is a tribute to those involved in the recent unprecedented demonstrations in Iran and demanded the release of Mohammadi, who has spent three decades campaigning for women’s rights and the abolition of the death penalty.
Head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, expressed hope that the prize would encourage women worldwide who face systematic discrimination. She stated, “We want to give the prize to encourage Narges Mohammadi and the hundreds of thousands of people who have been crying for exactly ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ in Iran.”
The Iranian government has not issued an official response yet and often attributes protests in the country to Western-led subversion. However, the semi-official news agency Fars implied that Mohammadi had received the prize from Westerners due to her acts against national security.
Currently serving multiple sentences amounting to about 12 years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, Mohammadi has faced detainment numerous times throughout her life. She remains an outspoken advocate for human rights and serves as the deputy head of the non-governmental organization, Defenders of Human Rights Center, led by 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Responding to the news, Ebadi congratulated Mohammadi and all Iranian women, emphasizing that the prize would shed light on the violation of women’s rights in the Islamic Republic. She further stated that the Iranian government has shown an inability to be reformed.
Mohammadi becomes the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in its 122-year history and the first since Maria Ressa of the Philippines won the award in 2021 jointly with Russia’s Dmitry Muratov.
Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, expressed his satisfaction with the Nobel Prize announcement, stating that it would embolden Mohammadi’s fight for human rights. He also emphasized that the prize represents a recognition of the broader “women, life, and freedom” movement.
Mohammadi’s prize, worth 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately $1 million), will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist who founded the awards.
Past winners of the Nobel Peace Prize include figures like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
Speaking to the New York Times, Narges Mohammadi declared that she would never stop striving for democracy and equality, even if it meant remaining in prison. She stated, “I will continue to fight against the relentless discrimination, tyranny, and gender-based oppression by the oppressive religious government until the liberation of women.”
Mohammadi’s Nobel Prize comes at a time when rights groups report the hospitalization of an Iranian teenage girl in a coma after a confrontation on the Tehran metro for not wearing a hijab. Iranian authorities deny the reports.
Numerous major global bodies have paid tribute to Mohammadi’s win, highlighting the bravery of Iranian women. The U.N. human rights office called the Nobel award an inspiration to the world, praising the courage and determination of Iranian women who face reprisals, intimidation, violence, and detention.
While the Nobel Prize could alleviate pressure on Iranian dissidents, experts believe it is unlikely to result in Mohammadi’s immediate release.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, Nerijus Adomaitis, Terje Solsvik, and Tom Little in Oslo, Ilze Filks in Stockholm, Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Anthony Paone in Paris, Charlotte Van Campenhout in Brussels, John Davison, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber, and Cecile Mantovani in Geneva; Writing by Gwladys Fouche and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by William Maclean)