The 51-year-old journalist is currently imprisoned in Evin Prison in Tehran.
The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday, October 6, to Iranian-imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.” The winner’s name was announced at 11 a.m. in Oslo, Norway. The 51-year-old journalist is currently in a prison in the Islamic Republic, where bareheaded women are spreading the wind of emancipation despite repression. The Nobel Committee “hopes” that Iran will release Narges Mohammadi, he defended after announcing his prize.
The awarding of the Nobel Prize represents “a historic and important moment for the struggle for freedom in Iran,” his family reacted in a written statement. “We dedicate this award to all Iranians and especially to Iranian women and girls who have inspired the whole world with their courage and fight for freedom and equality,” she added.
“The courage and determination” of Iranian women
“This truly underlines the courage and determination of women in Iran, who are a source of inspiration for the whole world,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This award “is an important reminder that the rights of women and girls are facing a serious setback, including through the persecution of women’s rights defenders in Iran and elsewhere,” responded United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“France welcomes this very strong election of a freedom fighter,” said Emmanuel Macron. “Mohammadi’s fearless voice cannot be contained, the future of Iran is its women,” commented German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on X.
“It is simply the Iranian cause that is being honored,” reacted the French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi to franceinfo. “This must make people realize that something real is happening in this Iranian society. (…) This torch is carried by women because women’s rights are the rights of society. Very easy. A society in which women are oppressed can never claim democracy.”