Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi (Persian: ????? ?????; born June 21, 1947) is an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist. On December 10, 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize.

Life and early career

Ebadi was born in Hamedan, Iran. Her father was Mohammad Ali Ebadi, the city's chief notary public and a professor of commercial law. The family moved to Tehran in 1948.

Related Topics:
Hamedan - Notary public - Commercial law - Tehran - 1948

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Ebadi entered the law department of the University of Tehran in 1965, and participated in the entry exam for judges immediately after graduation in 1969. She officially started her career as a judge in March, 1970, after a six-month internship period. She continued her studies in University of Tehran in the meanwhile, and received a master's degree in law in 1971. In 1975, she became the first woman in Iranian law history to head a legislative branch.

Related Topics:
Law - University of Tehran - 1965 - 1969 - 1970 - Internship - 1971 - 1975

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Ebadi was assigned to a lower position, actually the same branch's secretary, following the Iranian revolution in 1979, when conservative clerics insisted that judgement is forbidden for women in Islam. After protests by her and other female judges, they were assigned to a little higher position, a "law expert." She finally asked for early retirement when she could not stand her situation.

Related Topics:
Iranian revolution - 1979 - Cleric - Islam - Retirement

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Because of rejected applications, Ebadi was not able to work as a lawyer until 1993, when she was able to open a law office.

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She used the free time to write a few books and many articles in Iranian periodicals, which made her known widely.

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