Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Nobel Intentions QUOTE OF THE DAY "There is something more important than our hijab here in Iran.  Other rights must come first. When a man can easily divorce a woman and she struggles to get a divorce from him - this is more important than whether or not we cover our hair. When men automatically get custody of children, this is even more important. When we have solved our other problems, then let's talk about headscarves." - - Shirin Ebadi KNOW YOUR HISTORY - OCTOBER 1964 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. is announced as the 1964 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his civil rights activities. King is the second African-American to receive the prize. 1991 -- Burmese opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi wins Nobel Peace Prize. RHINO HERE: While this year's Nobel Peace Prize will certainly assist those fighting for human rights in Iran and other countries RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE explains why the choice of an Iranian human rights activist rather than one from Saudi Arabia or Kuwait was easy for those making the decision though maybe not as effective.   Iranian Lawyer, Staunch Fighter for Human Rights, Wins Nobel By LIZETTE ALVAREZ, NY Times, October 11, 2003 OSLO, Oct. 10 - Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer little known outside her country, became the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, recognition for her work promoting the rights of women and children in Iran. In awarding the prize to Ms. Ebadi, a "courageous person," the Nobel committee said it wished to prod the Muslim world into recognizing that Islam and human rights could go hand in hand. It also hoped to embolden the struggling reform movement in Iran at a time of widespread turbulence and upheaval in the Middle East. Iran, a nation of 66 million Muslims, is in the midst of a power struggle between Islamic conservatives and modernists, led by the embattled president, Mohammad Khatami, and is under intense international scrutiny over the question of nuclear weapons. Ms. Ebadi, 56, a lawyer, writer and university lecturer, has spent three decades advancing human rights in Iran and fostering a dialogue between hard-liners and reformists. At a news conference in Paris, where she was visiting, Ms. Ebadi immediately tested her newfound acclaim by calling for the release of political prisoners in Iran and cautioning the United States not to intervene in Iran's domestic affairs... MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/11/international/europe/11NOBE.html   A Prize, Laureate Says, 'Good for Democracy' By ELAINE SCIOLINO, NY Times,  October 11, 2003 PARIS, Oct. 10 - As a judge in Iran before the revolution of 1979, Shirin Ebadi stayed away from politics. But when the Islamic revolution came, she embraced the cause, joining the Ministry of Justice's strike committee and musing about creating an Iran that would rival the most open Western democracy. The embrace was not returned. The ruling clerics who created the Islamic Republic decreed that women were too "emotional" to be judges. Ms. Ebadi, one of the first Iranian women to be made a judge, was demoted to legal assistant. The experience, she said afterward, was like turning "the president of a university into a janitor." On Friday, Ms. Ebadi, 56, went before 200 journalists in Paris as this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, honored for her human rights activities and the promotion of democracy. "It's very good for me, it's very good for human rights in Iran, it's very good for democracy in Iran," Ms. Ebadi said in a news conference at the headquarters of the International Federation of Human Rights. "This prize," she added, "gives me energy to pursue my combat for a better future." Ms. Ebadi was a pioneer but an unlikely troublemaker... MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/11/international/europe/11EBAD.html 9:09:34 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - One Peace Prize Does Not Turn the West Into the Defender of Women's Rights Worldwide Nobel Intentions - One Peace Prize Does Not Turn the West Into the Defender of Women's Rights Worldwide by Natasha Walter, Guardian/UK , 10/13/03 In Tehran a few years ago I met Shirin Ebadi, the lawyer who has just won the Nobel Peace prize. Her integrity and bravery, even in the face of frequent threats and arrests, certainly make her an outstanding figure in her country and beyond - and of course a great recipient of the prize. But she would be the first to argue that in many ways she is not unique in Iran. She is part of a growing reform movement, and in her views on women's rights she seems to speak for many Iranian women. The hardliners' struggle to keep control of her country constantly runs up against the growing awareness of women, and the younger generation has been inspired by Ebadi and other female lawyers and journalists and politicians. Everywhere in Iran there are educated, forceful women who are dissatisfied with their situation and who are arguing for reform. Ebadi herself told me: "Even the traditional women here - even those who have not been educated and who live at home - even they are looking for their rights." We in the west often seem to believe that we have a sort of monopoly on feminism. Maybe it is hard for us to believe that women who wear those dark veils can be working for equality. But, as Ebadi says constantly, the clothes are not that important. "There is something more important than our hijab here in Iran," she said to me. "Other rights must come first. When a man can easily divorce a woman and she struggles to get a divorce from him - this is more important than whether or not we cover our hair. When men automatically get custody of children, this is even more important. When we have solved our other problems, then let's talk about headscarves."... MORE: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1013-11.htm "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 8:47:47 AM    comment

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