NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has recognized Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi with the prestigious 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. This honour acknowledges her relentless dedication to fighting against the oppression of women in Iran and her advocacy for universal human rights and freedom.

2. About Narges Mohammadi

• Narges Mohammadi, born in Iran in 1972, currently finds herself in detention, facing charges of "spreading anti-state propaganda" and defamation.
• Her journey into activism has deep roots, beginning with her family's involvement in political protests, notably during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which marked the transition of Iran from a monarchy to an Islamic republic.
• Mohammadi pursued her academic interests in nuclear physics in Qazvin, where she also met her future husband, Taghi Rahmani, a fellow political activist.
• Rahmani endured a 14-year imprisonment in Iran and now resides in exile in France with their two children.
• Mohammadi's activism commenced during her youth and has encompassed causes related to Iranian women's rights, opposition to the death penalty, and support for political protesters.
• She has used her voice to raise awareness about these issues through contributions to local newspapers.

3. Challenges and Detention

• Despite her engineering career in Tehran, Mohammadi was terminated from her job due to government directives.
• In the 2000s, she aligned herself with the Center for Human Rights Defenders in Iran, an organization founded by the prominent Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2003, dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty.
• Mohammadi's activism has not come without personal sacrifices. Her first arrest occurred in 2011, leading to multiple convictions, 13 arrests, and a cumulative sentence of 31 years in prison along with 154 lashes.
• Moreover, three additional judicial cases opened against her this year may result in further convictions.
• Even within the confines of prison, Mohammadi continued her activism, organizing protests alongside fellow women prisoners.
• In 2022, she penned 'White Torture,' a powerful account of her life under solitary confinement.
• This book also featured interviews with other Iranian women who had endured similar ordeals.

4. International Recognition

• Narges Mohammadi's unwavering commitment to human rights has garnered international acclaim.
• She has been honoured with prestigious awards in the West, including the 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award and the 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
• In 2022, she earned a spot on the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women worldwide.

5. Nobel Prize

• The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, and based on the fortune of Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and industrialist most famously known for the invention of dynamite.
• The Nobel Prize is awarded in six categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economics (known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel). 
• Each prize consists of a medal, a diploma, and a monetary award. As of 2023, the Nobel Prize monetary award is 11 million SEK.
• The Nobel Prizes are awarded annually on December 10, which is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The prizes are presented by the King of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm.
• The Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world and is given to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to humanity.
• The Nobel Prize is a symbol of hope and progress, and it is a reminder of the importance of peace, justice, and human rights.

6.  A Nobel Peace Prize for Diplomacy

• The Nobel Committee's decision to award Shirin Ebadi in 2003 aimed to reduce tensions between the Islamic and Western worlds in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
• This emphasis on diplomacy and global peace continues to be reflected in recent Nobel Peace Prize laureates, with the 2022 award going to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, along with the Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties, underscoring the prize's role in addressing geopolitical tensions.