Imprisoned Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi has recently been awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, a move that will strengthen her fight for women’s rights in Iran. The Nobel committee officially announced the decision, highlighting Mohammadi’s role within the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement and her status as an inspiration for Iranian women. Mohammadi has been serving her term at Evin prison, where her prison term was recently increased due to a new case filed against her.
Mohammadi serves as the Vice-president of the Human Rights Defenders Association in Iran. She is the second Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize, exactly two decades after Shirin Ebadi, the head of the aforementioned association, received the award. Shirin Ebadi, who has been living in London since 2009, acknowledges Mohammadi’s relentless fight for freedom, equality, and human rights.
As a civil rights activist, Mohammadi raised her voice against the human rights situation in Iran, and has spoken openly about the state of prisons and the high number of executions in the country. The activist has spent several years away from her family, who were forced to leave Iran. Her husband, Taqi Rahmani, left Iran in January 2012 after being arrested on multiple occasions.
In the official statement released by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, they affirmed their decision to award the the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 to Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for championing human rights and freedom for all. The award recognizes her courageous struggle, which came at a tremendous personal cost. The regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and according to the committee, sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes.
In addition to her activism, Mohammadi was also acknowledged for her role as an advocate for equality and women’s rights during the 1990s while being a young physics student. After completing her education, she continued to advocate for these issues as an engineer and a columnist in several reform-minded newspapers. Specifically, in 2003, she began working with the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran, founded by previous Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Individuals in and out Iran share the sentiment that the award to Mohammadi will amplify international attention and legitimacy towards the struggle of the opposition of the “Islamic Republic” to end political tyranny and establish a democratic political system in Iran.
More details about Mohammadi’s citation and her struggles can be found here.