Det bliver atter en person fra Den 3. Verden, oven i købet en kvinde, der får Nobels Fredspris. Den tildeles i 2003 den iranske advokat og menneskeretsforkæmper, Shirin Ebadi, meddelte den norske Nobel-komite fredag formiddag.
Shirin Ebadi bliver dermed én af blot 11 kvinder, som har modtaget Fredsprisen siden den blev indstiftet i 1901. Hun sagde kort efter til norsk TV, at “jeg er meget glad og stolt. Det er særligt godt for demokratiet i Iran og især for børnenes rettigheder”.
Ebadi fik prisen i konkurrence med 164 andre kandidater, blandt dem prominente navne som pave Johannes Paul II, Tjekkiets tidl. præsident Vaclav Havel, og popfænomenet Michael Jackson.
Med prisen følger 10 mio. sv.kr., svarende til godt 8,25 mio. kr., som Ebadi får overrakt ved den officielle ceremoni i Oslo onsdag d. 10 december.
Komiteens begrundelse for at vælge Shirin Ebadi gengives her in extenso på engelsk:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003 to Shirin Ebadi for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children.
As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, and far beyond its borders. She has stood up as a sound professional, a courageous person, and has never heeded the threats to her own safety.
Her principal arena is the struggle for basic human rights, and no society deserves to be labelled civilized unless the rights of women and children are respected. In an era of violence, she has consistently supported non-violence. It is fundamental to her view that the supreme political power in a community must be built on democratic elections. She favours enlightenment and dialogue as the best path to changing attitudes and resolving conflict.
Ebadi is a conscious Moslem. She sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights. It is important to her that the dialogue between the different cultures and religions of the world should take as its point of departure their shared values. It is a pleasure for the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize to a woman who is part of the Moslem world, and of whom that world can be proud – along with all who fight for human rights wherever they live.
During recent decades, democracy and human rights have advanced in various parts of the world. By its awards of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has attempted to speed up this process.
We hope that the people of Iran will feel joyous that for the first time in history one of their citizens has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and we hope the Prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for human rights and democracy in her country, in the Moslem world, and in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration and support.
Oslo, 10 October 2003
The Norwegian
Nobel Institute
Drammensveien 19,
NO-0255 OSLO
