Human rights activist says war hurts efforts

		Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, listens to a question during an interview at the College of Law at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y.
By Kevin Rivoli, AP

While President Bush says the invasion will spread democracy in the Middle East, Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer awarded the peace prize in December, says the toppling of Saddam Hussein has strengthened Islamic fundamentalists in both Iraq and Iran and given her country's theocratic regime a new justification "to keep people silent."

"Under slogans such as protecting national security or fighting terrorism, there's always a reason to act against and silence human rights advocates," she says. "So the U.S. military attack on Iraq ... hurt the democracy process in Iran and in the region."

Ebadi, 57, spoke in an interview near the end of a lecture tour of the USA and Canada that concluded Friday. She also criticized her government and said she would never run for political office in Iran because the current structure allows an unelected body of clerics to overrule reforms proposed by an elected president and parliament.

Some Iranian-Americans have criticized Ebadi for not being tough enough against her own government since winning the prize. They point to the fact that Ebadi was the guest of honor last month at a reception in New York hosted by Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Javad Zarif.

But Ebadi has also told World Bank officials not to give loans to regimes that abuse human rights.

"I am like a tightrope walker," she says of her efforts to balance criticism of the Iranian government with her desire to go back to Iran and continue her work. "Of course, once I was not able to keep that balance and I fell into jail for 25 days."

Ebadi was kept in solitary confinement in Tehran in 2000 for representing relatives of intellectuals and students killed by pro-regime vigilantes. She now represents the family of a journalist with dual Canadian-Iranian citizenship who died in Iranian custody last year.

Ebadi was chosen for the Nobel Prize over Pope John Paul II, among others. The award was seen as effort by the Nobel committee to promote peaceful reform in the Middle East. She learned of the honor while she was in Paris and returned to an impromptu airport welcome by enthusiastic crowds. But initial government reaction was tepid. President Mohammad Khatami told reporters the peace prize was "not that important," adding, "the ones that count are the scientific and literary prizes."

Iran experts say the honor should protect Ebadi for a while from official repression. "This year, nobody is going to touch her. But they are studying every single word she has said in public," says Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank.

Ebadi was appointed one of Iran's first female judges under the government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi After the 1979 Islamic revolution, she was demoted to the job of secretary to the Tehran central court where she had presided. The ruling clerics decided that women could not be judges.

Ebadi quit and sought a license to practice law. In the seven years it took to get the license, Ebadi says she wrote 11 books and became an expert in the field of children's rights. "I couldn't speak directly about human rights, so I hid behind the rights of the child," she told the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Ebadi studied the Koran, the Muslim holy book, to find arguments to refute the reasoning behind the Islamic government's reversals of progressive family laws enacted under the shah. In divorce cases, the theocrats gave fathers automatic custody of boys aged 2 and girls aged 7. Girls as young as 9 could be forced to marry. As a result of efforts by Ebadi and other rights advocates, Iranian boys and girls now remain with the mother until age 7 and a court decides what happens to them afterward. And the age of marriage for girls has been raised to 13.

"When I talk about victories, I do not mean that our problems with human rights have been resolved," she says. "We have numerous hurdles to overcome. But we were able to take away Islam as a justification for oppression."

A petite woman who wears a head scarf when in Iran, Ebadi lets her short dark hair show when abroad. Esfandiari says this gesture alone has emboldened and encouraged other reformers.

"This is the best thing that could have happened for Iran," Esfandiari says of Ebadi's peace prize award. "It is a sign that the struggle of Iranian women has been noticed and appreciated."

Q & A with Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi

Question: How has winning the Nobel Prize changed your life, has it increased your ability to confront the regime and other governments around the world?

Answer: After receiving the Nobel, I continued doing what I used to except with a faster pace. So many interviews, many trips. The Nobel has given me numerous platforms. And since these are international platforms, I don't limit my talks to just Iran but also speak about international affairs. I specifically talk about international affairs when I'm abroad and of course, when I'm in Iran, I will talk about internal issues After the end of the year, I will be spending most of time in Iran.

Q: What has been the impact of the U.S. invasion of Iraq on the reform movement in Iran?

A: The U.S. invasion of Iraq was a mistake. It hurt the process of democracy. The U.S. invasion led to the fundamentalists in that country organizing. It also made the work of human rights advocates in Iran harder. Because when we talk about human rights violations, they say you should refrain from discussing these things because they endanger national security at times of war.

Q: Do they say the U.S. might invade Iran?

A: With this justification, they try to keep people silent in Iran. They also say that supporting and advocating human rights is a political ploy. And they also tell us to look at the United States example as a protector of human rights ? see what they are doing to human rights now.

Q: Did the U.S. invasion make it easier for them to disqualify reformists in the recent Iranian parliamentary elections?

A: Yes. Under slogans such as protecting national security or fighting terrorism, there's always a reason to act against and silence human rights advocates. So the U.S. military attack on Iraq was truly a mistake and it hurt the democracy process in Iran and in the region.

Q: Why are Iranian women so strong, so able to fight and speak out when many other women in the Muslim world, particularly in Arab countries, are not so outspoken?

A: We have a 7,000-year-old civilization whereas the Arab civilization as we know today is mostly related to the advent of Islam. We have a large number of educated women; 63% of university students are girls. Women who are educated and aware of their civilizational background cannot accept repression. Unlike Arabs, we kept our own language and we embraced Shiism, which allows for greater interpretation of Islam.

Q: Iran is going to have a presidential election next year. Would you ever consider running for office?

A: Never.

Q: Why?

A: I'm a human rights advocate. I have to stay with it and be a voice for silenced people.

Q: President Khatami tried to do that.

A: For the same reasons that President Khatami did not succeed, I won't either. The Guardian Council did not allow Khatami to succeed.

Q: The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations gave a reception for you this week and yet you are a strong critic of the government. How do you balance your role as a critic of the government with attending such a reception? How do you walk this line so you can continue to function and stay out of jail?

A: I am like a tightrope walker. I walk a thin line and with a piece of stick in my hand, I try to retain my balance. Of course, once I was not able to keep that balance and I fell into jail for 25 days.

Q: Where you in solitary?

A: Solitary. No newspapers, no T.V., no books. I tried to do some sports and also to pray.

Q: Are you concerned that you could be arrested again?

A: Fear is an instinct like hunger. Whether you like it or not, you get hungry. After working for many years, I've learned not to allow fear to interrupt my work.

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