Nobel Peace Prize 2023

• 07 Oct 2023

Source: TH

Why in News?

Recently, Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi has been chosen by the Royal Swedish Academy for the coveted Nobel Peace Prize,2023 for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.

• The Prize recognizes their contribution for many years, promoting the right to criticize arbitrary policies and protecting the fundamental rights of citizens.
• In 2022, Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties.
• Other 2023 Nobel Prizes for Literature, Chemistry, Physics and Medicine have already been announced.

Who is Narges Mohammadi?

• About:
  • The 2023 Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi is a woman, a human rights advocate, and a freedom fighter.
    • As per the Academy, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize also recognises the hundreds of thousands of people who have demonstrated against the theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women.
    • The motto adopted by the Iranian demonstrators – “Woman – Life – Freedom” – suitably expresses the dedication and work of Narges Mohammadi.
• Contributions:
  • Ms. Mohammadi advocates against the death penalty in a country that reports most state executions. A strong advocate of women’s rights since her days as a college student.
  • She was arrested for the first time in 2011 for her efforts to assist incarcerated activists and their families.
• Fight for Human Rights:
  • While in prison, she began opposing the regime’s systematic use of torture and sexualised violence against political prisoners, especially women, that is practised in Iranian prisons.
  • During Mahsa Amini Protests (Iranian Hijab Movement), she expressed support from the prison for the demonstrators and organized solidarity actions among her fellow inmates.
  • Other Award Received by Mohammadi are:
    • Alexander Langer Award 2009
    • UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize and the Olof Palme Prize earlier in 2023.
    • Her book 'White Torture: Interviews with Iranian Women Prisoners' also won an award for reportage at the International Film Festival and Human Rights’ Forum.

What is the Iranian Hijab Movement?

• The Iranian law strictly recommends women to wear hijabs or headscarves with their regular outfits. Anyone not following this is recently being arrested, warned, or punished severely.
  • Mahsa Amini, a 22 years old youth, was arrested for breaching the dress code of Iranian women.
• The arrest of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian morality police, followed by her death, led to the outbreak of a massive protest by the Iranian women demanding greater freedom.
  • This demand at present is no longer restricted to Iran but has taken the shape of a worldwide protest.
    • The other important western cities, including Auckland, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Stockholm, Sydney, and Zurich, also saw demonstrations with banners displaying “Women, life, liberty.”