Thursday, September 20 – Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, opened the “Conversations on the Future” section of Molte Fedi 2018 with a talk titled “A Life of Revolution and Hope” at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo’s Upper Town (Città Alta).
The event was organized by ACLI Bergamo, with the support of Fondazione Pesenti.
Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts to promote human rights, particularly the rights of women, children, and political prisoners in Iran.
She was the first Muslim woman and only the fifth Muslim overall to receive a Nobel Prize.
One of the first female judges in Iran, Ebadi served as President of the Tehran City Court from 1975 to 1979, becoming the first Iranian woman to hold the position of Chief Justice. Like other female judges, she lost her position following the Islamic Revolution of February 1979, and was reassigned to a clerical role in the court she once presided over, until she applied for early retirement.
After obtaining her law license in 1992, Ebadi began working as a private attorney, taking on many controversial cases in defense of political dissidents—efforts that often led to her own arrest and harassment.
In addition to being an internationally recognized human rights advocate, she founded several NGOs in Iran, including the Million Signatures Campaign, which aimed to end legal discrimination against women under Iranian law.
Shirin Ebadi is also a university professor, and her human rights training courses often include international students. She has published over 70 articles and 13 books on various aspects of human rights, some of which were published by UNICEF.
In 2004, Forbes magazine listed her among the 100 most powerful women in the world.
Her memoir, “Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope,” was published by Random House in 2006 and has been translated into more than 13 languages. Her most recent book is titled “The Golden Cage.”
In January 2006, together with fellow Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Ebadi co-founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative.
Shirin Ebadi left Iran for a conference the day before President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election, and has not returned since.
Insights
- Profilo di Shirin Ebadi, di Cecilia D’Ambrosca, NENA-Near East News Agency, 3 luglio 2017
- “Nobel per la pace all’iraniana Shirin Ebadi“, La Repubblica del 10 ottobre 2003
- Profilo di Shirin Ebadi, di Ester Rizzo. enciclopediadelledonne.it
- Profilo di Shirin Ebadi tratto dal sito del Premio Nobell (testo in inglese)
- Shirin Ebadi – Lectio Magistralis in occasione della consegna del premio Nobel per la Pace (testo in inglese)
Molte Fedi 2018