Narges Mohammadi: Nobel Peace Prize

“I am not hopeless nor have I lost my motivation. We cannot stop trying. I still hope and deeply believe that the tireless efforts of our civil society activists will eventually bear fruit.” - Narges Mohammadi. The Middle East is not known for human rights; more so women’s rights. Most governments of the Middle East are totalitarian and the voices of women are muted. However, occasionally, there is that one brave woman who risks it all and becomes both the face and voice of the unrepresented and disenfranchised. That brave woman in the desert is Narges Mohammadi. The international community has welcomed with open hearts the newest member to the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. No one is more deserving or has risked more than the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Narges Mohammadi. Narges Mohammadi, has been the face of resistance to the totalitarian and brutal regime of Iran for years. This win must be bitter sweet for many reasons. Firstly, for Mohammadi’s staunch and unwavering advocacy for women’s rights to be recognized in this colossal way. Secondly, the realization even from behind bars that an idea cannot be imprisoned must be uplifting and empowering in fuelling Mohadmadi's passion and drive to continue the struggle. Mohammadi's win of the Nobel Peace Prize is in acknowledgment of her tireless campaigning for women’s rights, peace and democracy. Prior to being jailed, Mohammadi was vice president of the banned Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran, founded by Nobel laureate Ebadi. Narges Mohammadi has for years been a prominent human rights figure in Iran. She was awarded the prize for her fight against the oppression of women in the country, with the head of the Nobel committee calling her a "freedom fighter". She has also tirelessly campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty in Iran, which has one of the highest execution rates in the world. Miss Mohammadi, 51, has been arrested 13 times, convicted five times, and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison. She is currently serving a sentence of 10 years and 9 months, accused of actions against national security and propaganda against the state. She was also sentenced to 154 lashes. An engineer by training, Mohammadi has lived in a Iran governed by a Shiite theocracy headed by the country’s supreme leader. While women hold jobs, academic positions and even government appointments, their lives are tightly controlled. Women are required by law to wear a headscarf, or hijab, to cover their hair. Iran and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries to mandate that. Family and Advocacy. Mohammadi has been a prisoner for most of the past 20 years. Sadly, she has missed out on seeing her children grow up. Narges Mohammadi was born on April 21, 1972, in Zanjan, a town about 170 miles northwest of Tehran that has a history of progressive, left-leaning politics. After graduating from high school in Zanjan, she was admitted to the Imam Khomeini University in Qazvin with a major in applied physics. There, she was one of the founders of a student organization called Tashakkol Daaneshjooei Roshangaraan (Illuminating Student Group -- that is, a group that sheds light on complex issues). Mohammadi also played an active role in a student group whose goal was to climb the tallest mountains in Iran; due to her political activities, however, she was not allowed to take part in their climbs. She was arrested twice during her years at the university. Mohammadi began her career as a journalist writing for Payaam-e Haajar, a magazine dedicated to women's issues. Her husband, political activist Taghi Rahmani, lives in exile in Paris with their two children and they have not seen one another for years. Despite her incarceration, Ms Mohammadi has not been silenced. Last year, in a letter from Evin Prison in Tehran she detailed how women detained in the anti-government protests which were then sweeping the country were being sexually and physically abused. The Assoicated Press reports, Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, who lives in exile in Paris with their two children, 16-year-old twins, 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.” Rahmani has not been able to see his wife for 11 years, and their children have not seen their mother for seven, he added. Their son, Ali Rahmani, said the Nobel was not just for his mother: “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. The Iranian Revolution. Iranian Revolution refers to the popular movement in Iran (1979) that displaced the pro-western monarchy and established an Islamic republic. The Iranian Revolution was for the removal of Mohamed Reza Shah Pahlavi, the country’s monarch since 1941. The ruler Shah Pahlavi was supported by Western Countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. As a result of the Iranian Revolution, Iran became an Islamic Republic. Iranian Revolution was relatively a non-violent revolution. The movement saw the end of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. The 1979 Iranian revolution promised three goals: social justice, freedom and democracy, and independence. However, the people of Iran soon realized that the revolution only replaced one dictatorship with a more brutal dictatorship in which religion was used as a basis for oppression especially concerning women’s rights. The right to dress as women enjoyed under the rule of the Shah was gradually taken away from Iranian women: the family protection laws that had been passed during the Pahlavi era, which had significantly expanded women's rights, were cancelled; women were barred from holding judgeships and several other important positions; and the legal age of marriage for girls was reduced to nine (in the 1990s, it was raised to 13). The backward thinking which was held that women should stay at home to be mothers and wives underwent a revival. These developments, together with the political repression and the gross violations of Iranian human rights, particularly the rights of women by the Islamic Republic, motivated women to struggle more actively than ever before for their rights and the elimination of sexual discrimination. The protests were triggered by the death in custody in September 2022 of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly violating strict dress codes. Interestingly, Miss Mohammadi also wrote a book, White Torture: Interviews with Iranian Women Prisoners, documenting her own and 12 other inmates' experiences of solitary confinement. International Pressure. The Norwegian Nobel Committee made an excellent choice in naming Narges Mohammadi the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023. The international community must now do their part by applying more pressure on the Iranian regime for the immediate release from prison of Narges Mohammadi. No one should be imprisoned for expressing her views. The international community should apply more economic sanctions on Iran. The United Nations should be more forceful regarding Iran. The global community and all well-thinking citizens salute the bravery of Narges Mohammadi the recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. Mohammadi has been relentless in her campaigning for equal rights and justice for women of Iran. Mohammadi’s Nobel Peace Prize win will undoubtedly keep the cinders of the Women, Life and Freedom movement refueled and remind the world that Iranian women have not abandoned their resolve to live in a free and safe Iran that respects human rights. In the words of Barack Obama, for decades, Narges Mohammadi has been a vocal advocate for women and girls in Iran. This Nobel Prize is a well-deserved recognition of her courage, and the hope that she represents not only for the women in Iran, but for women fighting repression and violence around the world. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © NargesMohammadi #NobelPeacePrize #Iran #womensrights #humanrights