Dr Shirin Ebadi, the First Muslim Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize, Speaks at SOAS
Shirin Ebadi spoke in the Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre on 'The Role of Women in Promoting Peace in the Middle East'.
4 February 2011
Shirin Ebadi, JD, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, spoke to a packed Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre on 2 February.
Her topic was 'The Role of Women in Promoting Peace in the Middle East'. A recording of her talk can be accessed through this page.
Dr Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote human rights, in particular the rights of women, children and political prisoners in Iran. She is the first Muslim woman to receive the prize, and only the fifth Muslim to receive a Nobel Prize in any field.
The Role of Women in Promoting Peace in the Middle East by Dr Shirin Ebadi
One of the first female judges in Iran, Dr Ebadi served as president of the city court of Tehran from 1975 to 1979 and was the first Iranian woman to achieve Chief Justice status. She, along with other women judges, was dismissed from that position after the Islamic Revolution in February 1979. She was made a clerk in the court she had once presided over, until she petitioned for early retirement.
After obtaining her lawyer's license in 1992, Dr. Ebadi set up private practice. As a lawyer, Dr. Ebadi has taken on many controversial cases defending political dissidents, as a result of which she has been arrested numerous times.
In addition to being an internationally recognised advocate of human rights, she has also established many non-governmental organisations in Iran, including the Million Signatures Campaign, which demanded an end to legal discrimination against women in Iranian law.
She is also a university professor, and students from outside Iran often take part in her human rights training courses. She has published more than 70 articles and 13 books dedicated to various aspects of human rights, some of which have been published by UNICEF.
Dr Ebadi's talk was part of the Globalisation Lectures series organised by the SOAS Department of Development Studies. The series is convened by Professor of Development Studies and International Relations Gilbert Achcar.
