Sthirin Ebadi, 76 years old, she was the first female judge in Iran and the first Muslim to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 she was demoted to the role of secretary of the court of which she had been president. With Khomeini’s death, she embarked on a career as a lawyer to devote herself to defending the rights of women, children and political prisoners, an activity for which she and her family suffered imprisonment, as well as beatings and torture.
Dr. Ebadi was forced to emigrate abroadfrom where he continues his battle in support of the uprisings that have broken out in Iran since September 2022, after the arrest and killing of 22-year-old Masha Amini“guilty” of having left part of the hair uncovered under the hijab. Ebadi is the author of numerous essays, including Until we are free (Bompiani), at the basis of the documentary Until We Are Free directed by Dawn Gifford Engle. We interviewed her by telephone from London.
The rebellion in Iran: it is not mentioned but it continues
How far is the rebellion in Iran?
«I wouldn’t speak of rebellion but of a popular movement whose epilogue can only be the collapse of the regime. That collapse will be the gradual consequence of a process that is advancing like a train: it stops, restarts, and doesn’t always travel at the same speed towards the end of the line. In its first four months, the Iranian revolution was very noisy, and that noise today may seem muffled, but it hasn’t disappeared, and if we see fewer people taking to the streets during the day, it is because today people protest especially at night, because this makes them feel less visible and more protected. However, in this period, seven people were executed and 20,000 arrested and sentenced to very long prisons for participating in the demonstrations alone. And among those arrested there are journalists, bloggers, athletes, activists, students and many artists: for example, rapper Toomaj Salehi was imprisoned and tortured simply for singing a song.
Shirin Ebadi (Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Getty Images)
Shirin Ebadi: “Women are the beginning of the end of the regime”
The slogan of the movement, “Woman, life and freedom”, puts the word woman first.
“Because it is women who have started the protests, since they have suffered the worst discrimination in Iran during the last 43 years. It is natural that those who suffer the most violence are also more courageous in taking to the streets to protest. But women are not alone in this movement, men are also protesting alongside them to demand the abolition of discriminatory laws: the obligation to wear the hijab is just one of many”.
Is cutting hair as an expression of solidarity useful?
“Anything that expresses solidarity with our movement gives us strength and contributes to our cause. Men with short hair photographed themselves with a drawing of a pair of scissors on their heads to say to women: “We are with you”. My WhatsApp profile picture is currently a photo of an eleven-year-old making the gesture of cutting his hair. He is my nephew: he too feels part of the movement ».
Men support women
Lately, girls have also joined the protest. Did the fathers support them?
«It is true, even the younger girls have joined the protest, because they have understood that with this regime they will not have a future; therefore they followed their mothers and older sisters in the demonstrations. But the men participate alongside them, therefore also the fathers of those girls, who unfortunately the police poisoned with gas to punish them for demonstrating. A country that poisons its youngest children is doomed to collapse.”
Her father, law professor Mohammad Ali Ebadi, wanted daughters to be treated like boys. How important is this attitude for a child, and for society?
«It is very important, because everyone receives their first education in the family. And my father wasn’t the only one in Iran who thought so. I belong to the middle class, like most of Iranian society, and my family represents the authentic culture of our country, which resents that of the Islamic Republic: this cultural difference is the real root of the recent revolution”.
Girls’ education changed everything
Does it make a difference that many women in Iran today are educated?
“More than 50 percent of the student body in Iranian universities is now made up of girls, and there are also very many female teachers. It is natural that the many educated women in Iran find the discriminatory and humiliating laws against them unbearable, which take them back to the Middle Ages. Before the 1979 revolution, the situation of Iranian women was different, based on equal rights: they had obtained the right to vote and had entered Parliament ten years before the Swiss».
It is said that women are more determined than men when it comes to defending human rights.
“That’s exactly the case, at least in Iran, because women’s rights have been violated more often than men’s. Men’s rights in my country have also often been denied, such as freedom of expression. But only women have been given the obligation to cover their heads, and family law is now completely in favor of men. It is clear that women protest more strongly against these behaviors. And women don’t soften over time.”
Shirin Ebadi: «It is essential to act together and unite»
She founded the One Million Signatures Campaign against women’s discrimination in Iran and leads the Nobel Women’s Initiative which aims to give visibility to women’s contribution to peace, justice and gender equality. How important is teamwork?
“It is very important that women act together and support each other: in this way their voice becomes stronger and can be heard by more people, who thus get closer to their cause”.
He often says that not all of Islam shares the bans imposed in Iran. What is his Islam?
“My Islam believes in equality between people, accepts freedom of expression and allows everyone to live as they want. In my Islam all human beings, both women and men, both European and African, are equal. My Islam is against corruption, and has a place in the hearts of all believing people who want to distance themselves from the current regime.”
Stay on the right side, always
He also says that one must remain on the right side of history. How do you know which one it is?
“Just put your selfishness aside and don’t think only of your own interests. For example, when you see a colleague of yours being discriminated against who is about to be fired, and you remain silent for fear of losing your job or some privilege, your personal interests prevent you from being on the right side. Our interests must coincide with those of the whole community. You can’t live among hungry people and enjoy your food.”
Has your Nobel Prize medal seized by the Iranian government been returned to you?
“That’s right: all my possessions, including my father’s house, awards and honors, my books, my bank accounts, everything was confiscated and I never got anything back.”
Are you still receiving threats?
“Yes, and my family in Iran is still under pressure to keep me quiet. They have tried several times, but they know very well that they will not succeed, because I will never give up. My work for Iran will be finished only when we have a democratic and secular system and all the people have their rights respected. Until then, and as long as I live, I will fight to defend human rights in my country.”
Translations by Ella Mohammadi
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