Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer who
works to defend the rights of women and children in her home country, was
recently in Ottawa to mark the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
In her speech, she described the current situation facing women in Iran.
According to recent statistics, 65% of the university population in Iran
consists of women, and yet the life of a woman is worth half that of a man’s.
To fight this injustice through peaceful means, she is involved in the One
Million Signatures Campaign. This campaign is founded on grassroots activism and
efforts to raise awareness through conversations and dialogue with members of
Iranian society at all levels. In response, the Iranian government has
prosecuted 50 of the women active in the campaign, including one who was awarded
the Olof Palme Prize for 2007 but who was barred from leaving the country to
accept it.
Ms. Ebadi also spoke of the need for dialogue with Iran at the international
level. She emphasized the importance of developing relationships with grassroots
activists and civil society groups in Iran, who increasingly reflect the reality
and wishes of the population better than the government in power does.
With her focus on dialogue, Ms. Ebadi has shown through active example the
importance of peaceful protest and the impact it has over the long term in
effecting social change. By insisting on speaking directly to her government,
even when many in power are not listening, she has had an enormous influence on
the women in her country. She has demonstrated that courage to be true to our
values in the face of overwhelming opposition brings results, as long as there
is a clear vision of a better future for all.
