Narges Mohammadi, 51, has been honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize for her relentless fight for gender equality and human rights, both in Iran and worldwide. She leads the Defender of Human Rights Center alongside Shirin Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.
Mohammadi is currently incarcerated in Evin prison in Tehran serving a 10 year prison term and sentenced to 154 lashes, accused by the Islamic Republic of “propaganda against the state.” Mohammadi has been a vocal critic of the republic, and revealed stories of abuse and sexual assault against female prisoners.
The newly awarded Nobel prize winner is also deputy head of Iran’s Defender of Human Rights Center, committed to advancing women’s rights and abolishing the Iranian death penalty. The award brings attention to the struggles faced by activists in a country rife with human rights violations.
The chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated, “This prize primarily recognises the very important work of an entire movement in Iran, led by its undisputed leader, Narges Mohammadi,” referring to her public role in the regions’ widespread anti-government and pro-women’s rights demonstrations over the past year.
In September 2022, the death of 22-year-old protest icon Kurdish-Iranian Jîna Mahsa Amini in custody of Iran’s ‘morality police’ ignited uprisings, marked by the slogan ‘Women, Life, Freedom’, or ‘ Jin, Jîyan, Azadî’. Activists faced a brutal and deadly crackdown by Iranian security forces. The Iranian government’s enforcement measures for its strict Islamic dress code have grown increasingly taught over recent months, including the stationing of hijab police at all Tehran metro stations.
