On Friday, October 6, 2023, the Nobel Committee announced the name of an imprisoned Women Iranian human rights activist for the Peace Prize. Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution in the field of women’s rights advocacy.
Narges Mohammadi,51, keeps her struggle continues even adverse action by the government authorities. She spent time many year behind bars in the past too, and is currently locked up in prison.
She led the nationwide protest against the death of 22-year-old woman in police custody.t
Those series of protests were the most intense challenges faced by the Iranian govt in the last decades.
Berit Reis-Andersen, chair of the Nobel Committee, began the announcement with the words,” Woman, Life ,freedom” in Farsi. These words were slogans used during the demonstrations in Iran.
Berit Reis-Andersen said this is one of the perfect and best recognition of Narges Mohammadi’s struggle. He added further that the imprisoned Iranian rights activist is an inspiration for women across the world.
It is worth mentioning that Iran is governed by the rules and regulations of a Shiite Theocracy, Headed by the country’s supreme leader. Although women are allowed to work in some areas, like academic positions or selected government jobs, however lives of women are tightly controlled.
Women were strictly ordered to cover their heads with headscarfs or hijabs as a sign of piety. Moreover, Iran and Afghanistan are the only countries that still impose this hijab rule strictly.
After the announcement of her name, Narges Mohammadi, in a statement, expressed her desire to continue her and that she will” never stop striving for the realisation of democracy, freedom and equality.”
Speaking specifically, she also said the honour of the Nobel prize would make me more resilient, determined, hopeful and more enthusiastic on this path of struggle and will also accelerate my pace.
Narges Mohammadi , an engineer by profession, has been imprisoned five times, and she has been impriosned for a total of 30 years in prison.
Her current incarceration began when she was detained in 2021 after attending a memorial for a person who got killed in protest against the increased gasoline prices.
She has been kept in the notorious prison, namely ‘Evan prison.’ The prison inmates include those with Western ties and political prisoners.
Her winning of the Nobel prize is the best message given to the Iranian government. The message is that their efforts to suppress the rights, especially the rights of women, will not be accepted anymore,
Narges Mohammadi’s husband lives in Paris and said he has not seen her wife for 11 years, and his children haven’t seen their mother in the last seven years.
Narges Mohammadi is the second Iranian woman to win the Nobel Prize.It is the 15th time in the 122-year history of the Nobel Prize that the Peace Prize has been conferred on someone who is behind bars or under house arrest.
On another side, a semi-official of Iran reacted to this achievement of Narges Mohammadi. According to him, she is someone who creates tension and unrest in the country and falsely claims that she was beaten in the prisons.