Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi champions Iran's homegrown democracy movement and crafts careful legal arguments to challenge Iranian authorities to respect the rights of women and dissidents.
By Mandana Afshar
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Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi. © AI |
Iran's foremost human rights lawyer, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her courageous efforts to stop political imprisonment, gender discrimination, capricious and abusive interpretation of law, the death penalty and the explicit prohibition of homosexuality.
Ebadi was born in 1947 and became one of Iran's first female judges in 1975. After the 1979 revolution, officials removed her from her post, arguing that women are too emotional to be judges. Demoted to a clerical position, Ebadi was eventually granted a license to practice law, which she promptly began using to defend the disenfranchised. Her work put her at the forefront of Iran's own human rights movement–and raised the ire of the authorities. She has been prosecuted and imprisoned a number of times for her high-profile legal work on behalf of women, children and political dissidents.
Ebadi has been a vocal advocate for dialogue between her native Iran and the United States, whose relationship has been characterized by hostile silence since diplomatic relations broke in 1980. As a key player in Iran's vibrant civil society, Ebadi has an insider's view of the growing culture of democracy among Iranians.
ai: How would you characterize the pulse of civil society in Iran?
SE: The people of Iran are proponents of a more developed democracy, and they have followed that aim consistently. The people of Iran are also peace-loving. In the past 28 years, they have experienced a revolution and an eight-year war with Iraq. They are tired of violence and bloodletting. And they believe that any change must be accomplished peacefully and without brutality. However, they pay a price. Unfortunately, we don't have any lack of political prisoners in Iran. And I am sure that you have recently heard of the detention of Mr. Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoeni [a former member of Parliament] at a rally for women's rights. He is now more than three months in prison, and I am his lawyer. I have not received permission to visit him. I have not received permission to access any of the relevant records.
ai: Your organization, the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, was recently banned. How did that affect your work?
SE: My organization was not banned. About five years ago, some like-minded legal colleagues and I started a nongovernmental organization, and we applied to the Iranian government to register the NGO. We fulfilled all the legal prerequisites for registration, but the government failed to register us under both presidents, Mr. Khatami and Mr. Ahmadinejad. When Mr. Khatami was in power, we could do our work, without anyone bothering us. But after Mr. Ahmadinejad took office, we received a warning that we were illegal and, therefore, the organization had to be closed down. We responded to this warning with a letter saying that we had fulfilled all legal requirements for registration and that our work is legal, and that it is they who were acting outside the law by refusing to register us. We wrote that we will continue our work and that we are not willing to close the organization. The organization has not yet been closed down for one single day. But what will come in the future only God knows.
ai: We have heard that feminist unions are at the forefront of Iran's civil society movement, particularly in rural areas and far-flung provinces. What kind of work are they doing, and how is their approach unique?
SE: They are very strong. Their approach is unique because they have no leaders. They do not have a head or branch offices. Their union is in the house of each Iranian who is respecting the equality of law. This movement is made even stronger by not having leaders. If one or two people lead it, the organization would weaken if these leaders were arrested. Because there is no leader, it is very strong and not stoppable. This movement has achieved a lot of success. Most recently, it created a plan to collect 1 million signatures opposing gender inequality in the law. They have started a Web site for Iranian men and women who are against [discriminatory] laws. There has also been widespread support for us in international circles, including, notably, from the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. We hope that the support of the international community will help the movement in Iran.
ai: Is there a fundamental contradiction between rule of law and Iran's cleric-based judicial system?
SE: I am a lawyer. And that is why I am trying to correct the law. These laws are the wrong interpretation of religion.
ai: What about the more moderate voices within the Iranian government? How precarious is their position right now?
SE: Reformists were as much in danger in Mr. Khatami's time. Remember that Mr. Akbar Ganji, I myself, and other prisoners of conscience were imprisoned during Mr. Khatami's time. Those who fight for freedom, unfortunately, have always been in danger of imprisonment, and that has not changed.
ai: What do you make of recent intensification of hostile rhetoric between the U.S. administration and the Iranian government?
SE: Mr. Bush talks of democracy but he has no belief in democracy. Take a look at the close friends of the United States in our region: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait or Pakistan. These countries do not have a developed democracy but have, despite this, been close friends to the United States. When Saddam Hussein was throwing chemical weapons on the people of Iran, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld traveled to Iraq, met with Mr. Hussein and shook hands with him. This shows that Mr. Bush's ideas about democracy are not true. But I also have to say that the Iranian people have complaints about the government of Iran. The lack of human rights is moving the people of Iran toward their desire for a more highly developed democracy.
ai: How can NGOs in the United States best support the development of human rights in Iran? How about concerned individuals, such as Amnesty members?
SE: NGOs, no matter where in the world they are, are regarded as colleagues. Those who fight for human rights are members of one and the same family. They are in a good position to help each other. When someone is imprisoned it is better that NGOs, for example, Amnesty International, take action and bring the news of this injustice to the people of the world.
ai: What about accepting financial support or help from the U.S. government?
SE: Activists and Iranian groups cannot accept money from abroad. They are being scrutinized by the government, which could accuse them of espionage.
ai: Do you find it a contradiction for Iranians to ask foreign countries for moral support, even as some Iranians accuse foreign countries of interfering in Iranian affairs?
SE: We do not want to achieve democracy alone. I believe we need moral support from human rights organizations. But we believe that democracy cannot be imported to our country with missiles and bombs. Democracy is also not a good that someone can buy for us. Democracy is a culture that needs to grow among the people. Fortunately, this culture is very strong in Iran, and the people are continuing their fight for it. Iranians are absolutely ready for a democratic government.
ai: You once found your name on a government "hit list," and you have undoubtedly seen friends and colleagues suffer violent persecution. As a mother of two and one of Iran's most important human rights defenders, how do you determine the limits of safe activity for yourself?
SE: If you look into prisons around the world or on execution lists, you will see that many of these people were proponents of human rights. Human rights defenders are in danger everywhere because their criticisms are necessarily directed toward governments. Governments that lack human rights do not like to be criticized. Iran is no exception to that rule, and I am only one of these individuals. I cannot constantly pay attention to my safety, or I would not be able to do my work. 
