‘PEACE IS WORTH THE FIGHT’ SHIRIN EBADI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Her courageous defence of women’s and children’s rights has earned her awards as important as the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, it has also subjected her and her family to death threats from the most conservative sections of her own country, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Shirin Ebadi, human rights activist, international speaker, lawyer and writer, generously shares her thoughts and confessions from the heart of London’s financial centre.
‘We should be convinced of the justice of those things we defend in life and of the path we have chosen. The more certain we are of our convictions, the braver each one of us becomes when defending them. This makes bravery come almost naturally. Fear takes hold of us when we aren’t convinced about what we must do. The person who is happy to take a back seat is the person who has doubts about their place in the world. If a person has faith, they are able to move forward in their mission at any cost. I love my family very dearly, but I also feel the same about defending human rights. If we believe that death is the only certainty in life, why should we worry? I will not let the detentions and threats to which my family and I have been subjected get in the way of my work. I shall continue to defend human rights until the day I die.’
‘I shall continue to defend human rights until the day I die.’
And with that, our conversation had begun.
Shirin Ebadi was born in 1947 in Hamadan, North-West Iran, into a family of academics and practising Muslims. In 1965 she entered the Faculty of Law and in 1969 became the first female Iranian Judge. A few years later she was awarded a doctorate with honours in private law. In 1979 the Ayatollah’s Revolution, in the name of Islam, pronounced that women could not administer justice, and Shirin Ebadi was relieved of her post. She was forced to carry out administrative tasks in the very same house of justice over which she had presided for years before.
Fernando López del Prado: Which part of the Quran do you have to read to find this prohibition?
Shirin Ebadi: It is nowhere. It is an entirely incorrect interpretation of Islam. Biased. But also many of the other laws that discriminate against women were approved in the same way. It was established that a woman’s life legally corresponded to half the value of a man. If one day while I was walking with my brother through Tehran and we were to have an accident, the compensation that he would receive through his health insurance would be double that of which I would receive. Along the same lines, the testimony given by a man came to equal the testimony of two women. Women should be accompanied by their husbands or have their father’s permission to pick up their passport or any official document. These are to name but a few of the measures.
In 2003, Dr Shirin Ebadi became, the first Muslim and first Iranian national to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize committee cited in their reasonings her tireless work in defence of democratic values and human rights. In particular, her defence of the rights of women and children. Needless to say, they were equally influenced by her outstanding academic record, and her impressive career as a lawyer and writer. However, it was her singular boldness and determination that made her worthy of such distinction. She has also received many other honours and Honorary Doctorates from universities from all over the world.
In a landmark building in London’s Canary Wharf, one of the world’s most important financial centres, Mrs Ebadi agrees to share her thoughts for ‘about twenty minutes’ (that kindly stretches to forty, to my inner joy).
FLdP: What role should women play in a functioning democracy?
SE: Women make up half of any country, so they should necessarily play a much more significant role. Still today, women are primarily responsible for educating our future generations. For this reason, governments should not underestimate the vital role women play.
Moreover, for a woman to be able to lead a free and equal life, she must have confidence in herself. And one of the crucial foundation for this is economic independence. Once independent, she can decide if she wants to study and develop her potential professionally, if she wants a career, or if she intends to look after her children.
In Iran, they should start by changing the discriminatory laws against women. After the revolution of 1979, many laws were passed that clearly undermined the development of women’s role in society. Democratic values and women’s rights are necessarily intertwined.
Democratic values and women’s rights are necessarily intertwined.
At the moment, too many women are forced to gain the permission of their husbands to even go to the shops to buy anything; no matter how small. This means that making significant decisions that directly affect their lives is entirely out of their control. Until women are free of patriarchal dependence, they will not be able to do anything for themselves. As long as they are subjected to the will of the males in their lives, their value shall never be recognised in society.
FLdP: In Iran, you were a woman who broke the mould, what would you say is special about your case?
SE: To tell you the truth I don’t feel very comfortable being taken as an example for other women to follow. I have never liked following in the footsteps of others. I believe that every person should be free to discover their path in the world; to make the decisions they want to make, to find something new. This is how everyone can make their personal contribution to the world.
I believe that every person should be free to discover their path in the world.
Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to write many books, and I have always tried to write on subjects that had been relatively unexplored. The book that I wrote on children’s rights in Iran was the first published in the country on this issue. I wrote it in 1987, two years before the adoption of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child — the book was translated and published by UNICEF in 1993. Another subject that I have explored in my books has been that of democratic values in Islam. It is a subject which in truth is rarely talked about, despite not being anything new. I think that it has been important to offer a different perspective. The drive to stand out from the crowd is probably what has led to my career becoming an exception within Iran.
FLdP: You accepted the Nobel Peace Prize without covering your hair, causing an immediate scandal. Why should a woman cover her hair?
SE: I think that the act of covering one’s hair is an option that a Muslim woman should exercise freely. Its importance is magnified through the enactment of this freedom. She who wants to cover her hair should do so; but because she decides to do so, not because she feels pressured to do so. No man or any other social pressure should dictate decisions about the body or appearance of a woman. It really is that simple. A woman covering or not covering her hair should be seen as a gesture as commonplace as a man choosing whether or not to wear a tie.
FLdP: But the laws in Iran force women to cover themselves.
SE: Yes, they force both Muslim and non-Muslim women to do so. And it is this that I am against. For this reason, when I left Iran I removed my veil as a gesture that Iran’s laws have no effect outside of its territory; because I wanted to show to the world that women should be free to choose what they think is best.
FLdP: Both in Iran and in the rest of the world, patriarchy has shown itself to be a system of domination that transcends all borders and societies. What are the characteristics that have made it so solid, so pervasive?
SE: Patriarchal culture uses any excuse to justify itself, and religion has not been an exception. In all religions, it is the woman who sins. It is Eve, the sinner. The sin that she committed condemned us all to live outside paradise. Who is responsible for that interpretation? It is a male interpretation. Where is paradise? What does sin mean? Maybe God isn’t fair? Is it really fair to say that for the sin committed by a woman now all of the Humanity has to pay the price? For this reason, all sacred texts have to be reinterpreted. Patriarchal culture uses and abuses religion. To be able to put an end to this type of interpretation, one of the most decisive factors shall be the degree of knowledge we gather and share. For me, it is crucial to raise awareness in women, and in men too, of course. This awareness should cover all areas, particularly in the topic of religion. But actually, I don’t think it is such an effective system. In fact, I think that it is disappearing.
FLdP: You think?
SE: Yes, it is certainly weakening. Compare it to the 19th Century. It won’t disappear immediately, but if we compare it with times gone by, you can’t deny its progressive weakening. The roots of patriarchal culture are easily found in centuries past when the man was the head of the family and sustained the household. He held the economic power, the woman stayed at home, and the man took on the responsibility of the woman’s life. Although the roots remain, this situation is changing.
Patriarchal culture uses and abuses religion.
FLdP: Many successful women do not like the word feminism particularly. Do you think that there is a certain sexism in the rejection of the word feminism?
SE: It all depends on the definition and sense that we attach to this word. As long as it is taken as a chain of thought that defends equality among men and women, there is nothing to object to. Feminism demands equality of rights for men and women. In fact, we should all be feminists. However, we must not forget that there are women who, despite being victims of this patriarchal culture, are encouraging these very same patriarchal values from generation to generation and are in fact perpetuating this inequality.
Feminism demands equality of rights for men and women. In fact, we should all be feminists.
FLdP: Do we always have to lay the blame on women?
SE: You are right, and also not right. Mothers play a fundamental role in the education of their children. But this does not mean fathers can escape their responsibility. Women have adopted the double function of women and workers. To be able to carry out these two social roles in the most efficient manner possible, they need both social and economic support from the government. For example, traditional roles allow men more freedom to dedicate themselves to time-consuming careers such as politics. Therefore, there are fewer women in parliamentary positions and fewer women Heads of State. If there were a reliable system of quotas implemented in world Parliaments, we could balance out the current ratio. In the same way, local governments should make affordable childcare available to mothers. Companies should also offer this sort of services to their employees. Positive discrimination measures are still necessary to support women’s double function.
Evidently men also have to be educated on equality. We need men that create and defend women’s rights, that rule their lives by democratic values. Men who know how to cry when they are hurt, or to be sad without worrying about being labelled effeminate or weak. We need men who empathise more.
We need men who create and defend women’s rights.
FLdP: Do we need to educate them to be more human and less manly?
SE: Yes, that’s the gist of it.
With a friendly gesture, she signals that the interview has finished, but she finishes with some parting words. ‘We have to think globally. We must develop a universal sense of compassion and empathy for others and their situation, as distant or different as they may be. This is particularly important with regards to those people that find themselves in situations in which their human rights are not respected. Every day, we have the opportunity to put this change in motion. Social change must start from within each and every one of us. In our behaviour as individuals, in the hearts of our families, in our country. A new life starts every day.’
About Shirin Ebadi, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2003/ebadi-bio.html
https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/shirin-ebadi
About her books,
