Jailed Iranian Activist Narges Mohammadi Wins the Nobel Peace Prize for Fighting Women's Oppression
In appreciation of her tenacious advocacy for women's rights, democracy, and the abolition of the death sentence, imprisoned Iranian campaigner Narges Mohammadi received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
Despite being detained for years and being arrested repeatedly by Iranian authorities, Mohammadi, 51, has continued her activity. She has continued to serve as a role model for statewide protests spearheaded by women that were launched by the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody last year and have since developed into one of the most ferocious threats to Iran's theocratic leadership.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee's chair, Berit Reiss-Andersen, launched Friday's statement with the Farsi words "Woman, Life, Freedom"—the rallying cry of the Iranian protests. Reiss-Andersen stated that the award "is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with its undeniable leader, Narges Mohammadi." Additionally, she urged Iran to free Mohammadi by December 10 in time for the award ceremony.
Iran has been ruled by a Shiite theocracy overseen by the nation's supreme leader for almost all of Mohammadi's life. The lives of women are strictly regulated even when they possess careers, academic positions, and even government assignments. Women are compelled by law to cover their hair with a headscarf, or hijab. The only nations that still require that are Iran and the neighboring Afghanistan.
Mohammadi declared in a statement following the awarding of the Nobel that she would "never stop striving for the realization of democracy, freedom, and equality."
She stated in the prepared statement in case she was selected as the Nobel laureate, "Without a doubt, the Nobel Peace Prize will make me more resilient, determined, hopeful, and enthusiastic on this path, and it will accelerate my pace."
Mohammadi, an engineer by qualification, has served 13 prison terms and been found guilty five times. She has received a total term of 31 years in jail. Her most recent incarceration started when she was taken into custody in 2021 after going to a memorial for someone who had died during widespread protests.
She has been detained in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, which also houses political detainees and convicts with ties to the West. Amnesty International and Vice President Joe Biden of the United States supported the appeal for Mohammadi's immediate release.
In a statement, Biden stated, "This award is a recognition that the world still hears the clarion voice of Narges Mohammadi calling for freedom and equality, even as she is currently and unjustly held in Evin Prison." "I implore the Iranian government to immediately free her and her fellow advocates for gender equality from detention."
"A clear message to the Iranian authorities that their crackdown on peaceful critics and human rights defenders will not go unchallenged," Amnesty stated of Friday's award.
Hamidreza Mohammadi, Mohammadi's brother, claimed that although "the prize means that the world has seen this movement," it would not change the circumstance in Iran.
He told The Associated Press that "the regime will intensify its attacks on the opposition." "They're just going to crush people."
Taghi Rahmani, Mohammadi's husband, said his wife "has a sentence she always repeats: 'Every single award will make me more intrepid, more resilient, and more brave for realizing human rights, freedom, civil equality, and democracy.'" The couple has two 16-year-old twins.
According to Rahmani, it has been 11 years since he last saw his wife, and it has been 7 years since their kids last saw their mother. The Nobel Prize was not simply for his mother, according to their son Ali Rahmani: "It's for the struggle." "This prize is for the entire population, for the whole struggle from the beginning, since the Islamic government came to power," added the teenager.
Reihane Taravati, an exiled Iranian photographer who spent 14 days in solitary confinement there before escaping to France this year, political prisoners in Evin aren't permitted to use the phone on Thursdays and Fridays, so Mohammadi prepared her statement ahead of the Nobel announcement. Mohammadi is the second Iranian woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize after human rights campaigner Shirin Ebadi did it in 2003, making her the 19th overall.
The nomination on Friday was hailed by Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, as "a tribute to all those women who are fighting for their rights at the risk of their freedom, their health, and even their lives."
It is the sixth occasion in the 122-year history of the award that a prisoner or person under house arrest has received the Nobel Peace Prize. Ales Bialiatski, the leading defender of human rights in Belarus, was one of the 2022 winners. He is still detained.
Mohammadi was being held as a result of the recent demonstrations against the passing of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for reportedly wearing a loose headscarf. In a security crackdown, more than 22,000 people were detained and over 500 individuals were slain.
However, Mohammadi wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times in September from behind bars. What the authorities might not realize, she said, "is that the more of us they imprison, the stronger we become." The decision of the Nobel committee was condemned by the Iranian government, which is holding Mohammadi in prison, as being a result of the "interventionist and anti-Iranian policies of some European countries."
It "is another link in the chain of pressure from Western circles against Iran," said Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Mohammadi was "in and out of jail for much of her adult life," according to Iranian official media, which also referred to her widely praised activity as "propaganda" and a "act against national security.
People in Tehran showed their support for Mohammadi and her tenacity. "Her right won the prize. Mina Gilani, the girl's high school teacher, said, "Bravo! She stayed inside the nation, in jail, and defended people.
Arezou Mohebi, a 22-year-old chemistry student, said Mohammadi was "the bravest I have ever seen" and referred to the Nobel as "an award for all Iranian girls and women." The prize, according to political analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi, might put Mohammadi under further pressure. He said on the internet, "The prize will simultaneously bring possibilities and restrictions." "I hope its limitations won't confine Narges."
Mohammadi served as vice president of the outlawed Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran, which was established by Nobel laureate Ebadi, before being imprisoned.
One million dollars' worth of cash is awarded as part of the Nobel awards. The peace prize is agreed upon and presented by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, as opposed to the other Nobel prizes, which are chosen and announced in Stockholm per Alfred Nobel's directive.
Monday's announcement of the winner of the economics prize, officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, marks the conclusion of the Nobel season.
References
Aggarwal, M. (2023, October 6). Jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi wins Nobel Peace Prize for fight against oppression of women. NBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iranian-human-rights-activist-narges-mohammadi-wins-nobel-peace-prize-rcna119156
GAMBRELL, J., BECATOROS, E., & LEICESTER, J. (2023, October 7). Nobel Peace Prize 2023 awarded to Iran's Narges Mohammadi. AP News. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://apnews.com/article/nobel-peace-prize-oslo-776ca1bcf0fde827ad90af8a069907eb
Smith, C. (2023, October 6). Jailed Iranian Activist Narges Mohammadi Wins the Nobel Peace Prize for Fighting Women's Oppression. USNews.com. Retrieved October 8, 2023, from https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-10-06/the-nobel-peace-prize-is-to-be-announced-in-oslo-the-laureate-is-picked-from-more-than-350-nominees