Do you remember the pro-democracy protests in Iran that blossomed alongside the World Cup in Qatar last September? "Democracy ... is not something that occurs overnight. It is not a gift delivered on a golden tray. Democracy is a long process of fighting,challenging accepted ideas, and perpetually striving for freedom. Like a seed that has to be watered every day to become a flower, democracy needs constant attention and care.” Shiran Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has walked with Iran's democratic history. She has sacrificed and long fought for democracy from Iran's Islamic Revolution to the current democratic demonstrations. Let’s take a look at her life and her struggle for Iranian democratization and human rights with CAH.

Shirin Ebadi was born on June 21^st, 1947, in Hamadan, Iran. Raised in a family that strived for gender equality, she was allowed to grow into an independent woman. She graduated with top honors from Tehran University Law School and became Iran's first female judge at the age of 23, but her adversity began with Iran's Islamic Revolution[1]of 1979. The new leaders of Iran claimed reasons such as "women's emotional nature is unsuitable for legal proceedings" and cited religious doctrines from the Quran as excuses to strip Ebadi of her judgeship. They even pressured her to become a court clerk. But, Ebadi did not succumb to this pressure. She petitioned for early retirement and aspired to become a lawyer. After several years of trial and error, in 1992, she finally began her career as a lawyer defending the human rights of the weak.

After the revolution, Iranian society formed a repressive atmosphere led by Islamic doctrine, and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War further trampled on the rights of women and children. In this context, Ebadi taught law and human rights to students at the University of Tehran and defended many dissidents pro bono. In 1999, Ebadi was imprisoned for three weeks after distributing evidence concerning government officials who had murdered Tehran University students. Through defending those suffering under the legal system, she realized state law must change for true human rights to take root. This realization led Ebadi to advocate for improving the legal status of women and children. She contributed to drafting a bill on child abuse that was passed by the Iranian parliament in 2002. Additionally, she drafted a law explaining how women's rights to divorce aligned with Islamic religious Sharia-law and presented the bill to the government. In 2003, Ebadi became the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts and meritorious service to the advancement of democracy and human rights. She was also greatly honored when Forbes magazine named her one of the 100 most influential women in the world in 2004.

However, her homeland did not warmly receive her Nobel Prize. At the time, Iran was deeply hostile to the United States due to the Iraq War. As an American Nobel laureate, Ebadi was suspected by the government of being a traitor who collaborated with the country's enemies. The government repressed her by any means necessary, surveilling her law office and even targeting her family as a source of weakness. Nevertheless, she never ceased her efforts for human rights and democracy. In 2006, Ebadi, with five other Nobel laureates, established the Nobel Women's Initiative (NWI) to enhance peace, justice, and equality for women. NWI aims to promote peace through community consciousness and solidarity in places where women suffer due to war, famine, and violence. Moreover, she contributed to the establishment of two non-governmental organizations in Iran: The Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child (SPRC) and the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), which was shut down by the Iranian government in 2008. Even though relentless government repression drove Ebadi to leave her homeland, Ebadi continued to advocate for democracy and peace in Iran. In the face of fear, she expressed, "How can you defy fear? Fear is a human instinct, just like hunger. Whether you like it or not, you become hungry. Similarly with fear. But I have learned to train myself to live with this fear."

 Currently, Ebadi is actively engaged in supporting Iran's pro-democracy protests that began with the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022[2]. She has enthusiastically participated in various international human right festivals numerous media interviews, in order to amplify the international protest community's interest and support for the pro-democracy protests in Iran. On May 17^th, 2023, she delivered a speech at the 4GAMECHANGERS Festival[3] in Vienna, expressing her support for Iran's pro-democracy protests. In her speech, Ebadi emphasized the need for protest activists to cooperate actively with the UN Fact-Finding Mission and the importance of financial support for the protesters. She also said that if the ongoing pro-democracy movement in Iran, which has lasted for nearly a year, succeeds, it could bring peace not only to the Iranian people but also to the Middle East and the rest of the world.

In this way, Ebadi has dedicated her entire life to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran. Despite the government taking away her family, her career in the judiciary, and even her Nobel Prize, they couldn't break her unwavering will for a better future, democracy, and peace. Ebadi's life and struggles are chronicled in the documentary film Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free (2022). If you're interested in learning more about this never-say-die human rights activist, why don’t you watch this movie?