When word first emerged that Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, there were more than a few people asking: Who? But for those who knew her, the announcement was no surprise. In her home in Iran, Ebadi had earned a formidable reputation as a human rights lawyer determined to fight for women, children and political freedom. She once spent 23 days in solitary confinement for criticizing Iran’s leaders.
Ebadi is not out to make friends. Reformers want her to attack the mullahs. The clerics want her to stop talking about human rights. But she says she intends to keep working for ordinary people, and for them, she is a symbol of hope. The day after she received her Peace Prize: one Iranian newspaper featured a drawing of a Nobel medal emerging as a golden flower from a sea of thorns.
Guests:
Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and the winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.