Jailed human rights activist, Narges Mohammadi has won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all. “Woman, life, freedom”, said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, arriving at the lectern, repeating the slogan of Iranian protesters.
The activist, 51, is presently in prison for raising her voice against the oppression of women. Narges Mohammadi, is also an Iranian writer, human rights activist and deputy director of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). She is serving multiple sentences, amounting to 12 years, most recently for “spreading anti-state propaganda”.
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“Narges Mohammadi’s brave struggle has come with tremendous personal costs. The Iranian regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Mohammadi is still in prison,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Nobel committee chair Reiss-Andersen also said that by awarding the prize to Mohammadi, the committee hopes to send a signal to the Iranian government to “listen to your own people”. She further added that by naming Mohammadi as this year’s winner, it is “first and foremost a recognition of a whole movement in Iran with its undisputed leader Narges Mohammadi.”
The Nobel Peace prize is awarded to a person “who has worked the most or the best for the fraternisation of peoples and the abolition or reduction of standing armies as well as the formation and spread of peace congresses,” according to the will of Alfred Nobel, who founded and funded the prize.
The Nobel peace prize was announced today, October 6 at a ceremony in Oslo. The contenders for the award were Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, and the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
The committee had a total of 351 candidates to choose from, 259 individuals and 92 organisations. The winner is awarded a gold medal, a diploma and 11m Swedish krona. Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.