Iranian Reformers Hail Nobel Prize Winner

Iranian Reformers Hail Nobel Prize Winner
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&e=1&u=/ap/20031011/ap_on_re_eu/nobel_peace

The Nobel Peace Prize award for Iranian lawyer-activist Shirin Ebadi may do more than place her in the rarified company of history-shapers such as Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa. It could hand Iranian reformers what they've been craving: a leader with the clout to rattle the entrenched theocracy.

Ebadi — who also is Iran's first female judge — was praised around the world as a courageous champion of political freedom after the Norwegian Nobel Committee honored her Friday for promoting peaceful and democratic solutions in the struggle for human rights.

The prize, announced Friday in Oslo, Norway, gave hope to the dispirited reformers challenging Iran's ruling clerics that the 56-year-old lawyer's newfound prominence may breathe life into their tired ranks.

"This prize doesn't belong to me only. It belongs to all people who work for human rights and democracy in Iran," Ebadi said in Paris, where she was attending a conference.


Ebadi, who was jailed for three weeks in 2000, has been a forceful advocate for women, children and those on the margins of society.
"As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, far beyond its borders," the Nobel committee said in its citation


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great woman,great person, great choice

She is not a reformer by the same token as that imcompetent Khatami who advocates 'Islamic Democracy'.

She advocates Secular government and separation of mosque and state which the vast majority of Iranians have been calling for.