Shirin Ebadi

b 21 June 1947

Iranian lawyer, human rights campaigner, first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

How can you defy fear? Fear is a human instinct, just like hunger. ... But I have trained myself to live with this fear. ... if I discontinue my work I will have succumbed to my fears.

 

Women are the victims of this patriarchal culture, but they are also its carriers. Let us keep in mind that every oppressive man was raised in the confines of his mother's home.

 

The idea of cultural relativism is nothing but an excuse to violate human rights.

 

My aim is to show that those governments that violate the rights of people by invoking the name of Islam have been misusing Islam.

 

The condition of women in Islamic societies as a whole is also far from desirable. However, we should acknowledge that there are differences. In certain countries, the conditions are much better and in others much worse.

 

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