Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian human rights lawyer fighting for liberty and social justice, especially for the marginalised. She was Nobel Peace Prize winner for her work in 2003. Here is the BBC estimate of her work. She was the first female judge in Iran, and teaches law in the University of Tehran. Her offices from which she complained for the marginal was closed down by the authorities and staff arrested.

Much of her work has been on women's liberty and rights. Since the Iranian revolution, freedoms for women have been considerably eroded.

Her recent work has been to support the Iranian Bahai community. Bahais have been persecuted in Iran ever fince their founding in the middle of the 19th century. Since the Iranian revolution, Bahais have been executed for teaching children, and for being Bahais (regarded by some Muslims as a heresy of Islam, but believing themselves to be a separate world religion). Family wealth and property has been confiscated, and children have been denied an education and entry to university. In January, arrests of six Bahais hit the news, including a member of her own staff. More details linked here. On Channel 4 News today, she showed desecrated Bahai gravestones and expressed great concern for both the treatment of the Bahai minority, and civil rights generally.

The Bahai Faith emerged as a peaceful religion in Iran from the 1850s. Their first teacher, called The Bab, was executed, their first 'Manifestation of God', Bahaullah, was imprisoned until his death in 1892. Both left a considerable body of teaching that encouraged world development to an ideal in which men and women are considered equal in status, that all races and nations should be deemed equal, that extortion and impoverishing must be stopped, that the world should develop a democratic politics in which everyone are valued. They teach that all religions should be valued as expressions of God's revelation. The encourage the empowerment of both families and communities. What is there in this philosophy that must be silenced?

Power in this world is held by vested interests who demand obedience and deny freedom of thought, religion and action. Those in power have mechanisms, such as police and army, to assert their dominence. Individuals therefore have to decide whether to allow this to happen uncontested, or be counted as ethical opponents, and thereby as workers towards peace, equity, respect and human well-being. The opposite is to be supporters of aggression, injustice, disrespect and human degradation. Whatever our beliefs, we have to stand up and be counted as ethical workers towards global and local peace.


See further: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Ebadi.