The Martlet

Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi laps the globe giving powerful speeches, yet she is required by law to ask her husband’s written permission to travel abroad.

Thankfully, he signed the note she needed to present at UVic as part of the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series March 3 to speak about women’s rights in Iran and around the world.

This is just one of many terrible ironies Ebadi plays out as a woman who was forced to resign her position as the first female judge in Iran in the Islamic revolution of 1979. She continued to fight for justice and human rights by teaching at Tehran University and writing up a storm of books and articles.

In Canada she made headlines for defending the case of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi who was murdered in Iranian custody. UBC, Simon Fraser and many other universities have awarded Ebadi with honorary degrees.

On March 3, Ebadi spoke with great gravity, and within the confines of business suits and podiums and the formality of the cavernous Farquhar Auditorium, her words (in Farsi) radiated passion.

“Women everywhere in the world are not equal to men and are ill-treated,” said Ebadi through a translator who spoke from a separate podium on stage.

Ebadi spoke of polygamy, genital mutilation, lack of education, and burning widows to their death, noting that Canadian women are unequal, despite equal legal rights.

“Key political and financial positions are held by men, and you can rarely see women in these positions,” said Ebadi. For high-level representation of women, Iran is doing better than Canada. Ebadi explained that in some countries, prejudice is more subtle: women may hold seats in parliament until they speak their minds, or may get lower wages for equal work.

Ebadi would be out of the job if there was no hope for change.

“Women are in better shape where democracy is in better shape,” she said. But although it helps, “democracy is not a gift,” and we cannot be “dropping democracy like cluster bombs.” Without empowerment, “democracy is made for men, and women get the leftovers, if anything.”

There is a lesson the United States could learn.

“The American soldiers not only failed to bring democracy to Iraqis, but have also made the situation worse for women,” said Ebadi. “We love Iran, we want it free and do not want it to become another Iraq.”

Praised by her Nobel Prize selection committee as a “courageous person” who “has never heeded the threat to her own safety,” Ebadi is a woman who, in her digging for truth, uncovered a hit list with her name on it.

“I am a Muslim, and I do believe in God, and this makes me stronger,” said Ebadi about her bravery. She does not blame Islam for discrimination against women.

“The government that oppresses women is not brave enough to say, ‘I am doing it,’ so they try to use something as an excuse,” said Ebadi. “And the excuse in Iran is the religion.”

Ebadi called on the audience to let go of excuses and open their eyes to reality.

“I’ll tell you what I heard today,” she said, grabbing the podium and pulling herself close to the mic to recount the tale of female journalist Parvin Ardalan who was stopped by Iranian police from boarding to Sweden to receive an award for human rights activism.

“The most important thing you can do is to report to the people of the world the situation of women in Iran just as it is: not any lighter, not any darker.”