Jailed Iran activist Narges Mohammadi gets Nobel Peace Prize

Oslo, October 6

Imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of her tireless campaigning for women’s rights and democracy and against the death penalty.

Imprisoned 13 times

• Narges Mohammadi (51) has been held 13 times, convicted five times
• An engineer, started off as a campaigner 32 years ago as a student
• Is the deputy head of the rights body led by Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Iranian Nobel Peace laureate
• Sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes
• Husband Taghi Rahmani says she hasn’t met him for 15 years

Mohammadi (51) has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. “This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with its undisputed leader, Narges Mohammadi,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who announced the prize in Oslo. She urged Iran to release Mohammadi in time for the prize ceremony on December 10. For nearly all of Mohammadi’s life, Iran has been governed by a Shiite theocracy headed by the country’s supreme leader. While women hold jobs, academic positions and even government appointments, their lives can be tightly controlled. Laws require all women to at least wear a headscarf, or hijab, to cover their hair as a sign of piety. Iran and neighbouring Afghanistan remain the only countries that mandate it. — AP