FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2023
The Women’s Learning Partnership celebrates the announcement of the Nobel Committee’s decision to honor Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi with the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee rightly noted Mohammadi’s “fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.”
The founder of the Women’s Learning Partnership, and former Minister of Women’s Affairs in Iran, Mahnaz Afkhami, describes Mohammadi as “a courageous, selfless, and relentless advocate for human rights.” She further notes that "honoring Narges Mohammadi's work provides crucial support to women in Iran and those around the world leading movements for rights and freedom."
Mohammadi is the second Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The first was human rights lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi who received the honor in 2003. Twenty years later, Mohammadi is the Vice President of Ebadi’s human rights organization, Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). This continued recognition of Iranian women activists by the Nobel Committee illustrates that Iranian women's liberation efforts ring true worldwide.
This Nobel Peace Prize gives critical and constructive global attention to the relentless work of Mohammadi, as well as to the cause of all women and girls in Iran and their struggles for Woman, Life, Freedom. Their struggle is echoed in women’s movements across the globe.
Throughout her life, including now while in prison, Mohammadi remains a powerful voice for human rights in Iran. She is a vocal critic of Iran’s mandatory hijab laws, and an advocate for peaceful civil disobedience. She has reported from her detention in Evin Prison about the systemic physical and sexual abuse faced by the women unjustly detained there.
The Nobel Prize highlights the need for attention and action from the international community to support and uphold the struggles for freedom and human rights in Iran, and around the world, especially the struggles led by women. The Women’s Learning Partnership is proud of the work of the partnership to advance the rights of women in Iran and beyond.
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Media Contact:
Tori Pell, Senior Program Associate for Communications and Advocacy
Phone: +1 301-652-2774
Email: tpell[at]learningpartnership.org