Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi was honored this Sunday during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Because she was imprisoned, Mohammadi did not attend the ceremony, but left a request for her: that “a photograph of her with her hair down, dressed in colors and with a smiling look” be used.
In a speech written “behind the high, cold walls of a prison,” the activist denounces the “oppression, repression, discrimination and tyranny” of a “despotic and religious” Iranian government.
“Tyranny is an endless and limitless malevolence that has long cast its sinister shadow over millions of displaced human beings. Tyranny turns life into death, blessing into mourning, and comfort into torment. Tyranny oppresses humanity, free will and human dignity. Tyranny is the “other side of the coin of war. The intensity of both is devastating: one directly, with its destructive flames of visible devastation, the other, insidious and deceptive, tearing humanity apart,” Narges Mohammadi’s daughter read emotionally.
Mohammadi thus points out that their struggle has been more “a question of survival” than of “improving the quality of life” of women, in a speech that does not forget the “brave” Iranian voices, “who lived a life of resistance in several zones of implacable oppression”.
“Amidst the flames of violence and the perpetuation of tyranny, our cause for years was more about survival than improving our quality of life. Essentially, it became about the possibility of staying alive, surviving and living in a world where human life is exposed, “without protection or shield, before the power of arrogant authoritarian governments, and remains defenseless against everything,” he laments.
The activist also highlights that the Iranian people have been fighting to achieve “democracy, freedom and equality”, in an attempt that has involved “non-violent protests and civil resistance.” Still, he laments that a “ruthless and ruthless Government” that “systematically resorts to discrimination based on religion, gender and ethnicity” is overriding the will of the population.
“Democracy, due to its inherent capacity for freedom and equality, has been a fundamental demand of Iranian society and, almost unanimously, civil society calls for fundamental changes and a transition to democracy as a component of Iran’s future political system,” it states. showing, however, “confident that the undeniable impact of the Nobel Peace Prize on the powerful and recent movement of Iranians for peace, freedom and democracy will overcome the force of individual struggle and resistance.”
Narges Mohammadi considers that the mandatory wearing of the hijab is “a shameful government policy” and assures that women in Iran will not “conform.”
“We believe that the mandatory hijab imposed by the Government is neither a religious obligation nor a cultural tradition, but rather a means of maintaining authority and submission throughout society. The abolition of the mandatory hijab is equivalent to the abolition of all roots of religion tyranny and break the chains of authoritarian oppression,” he argues.
The Iranian activist also denounces what she considers a “serious lack of attention” on the part of “Governments and international organizations” and regrets that their “policies and strategies” have been “ineffective in truly allowing the Iranian people to achieve their objectives.” “.
“Western governments should not delay democracy and human rights by adopting strategies focused on the continuation of the Islamic Republic regime. Global civil society is expected to provide more tangible support to the Iranian people’s transition efforts.” democracy and non-violent struggle. achieve peace, democracy and human rights without further delay,” he asks, using the voice of his son, who read the second part of his speech.
The leader of the Nobel Committee also highlights that the prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her “long and brave battle against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight for freedom and equality.”
Not being able to attend the ceremony, the leader recounts the request of Mohammadi, who despite being arrested, assures that she is not “silenced”: “She asked us to use this particular photograph: happy, with colorful clothes, with hair loose and with a captivating and smiling look.”
The “only crime” of the activist, who saw her career as a physicist and engineer hindered by the simple fact of being a woman, is “raising her voice in favor of human rights and advocating against the death penalty,” she added.
The Nobel Committee also highlights that, through her work, Mohammadi “contributed to the advancement of the brotherhood of the people in Iran” and recalled that when the girl learned that she had been chosen, she said a name came to mind: ” The name Mahsa Amini came from the depths of my being.”
The activist ended up dedicating the award to the young woman who was murdered at the mercy of the so-called customs police of Iran, because they considered that she was wearing the hijab inappropriately.
Narges is 51 years old and has spent most of the last two decades in prison and remains there. This Friday, International Human Rights Day, she is on hunger strike again.
Mohammadi, who campaigned against mandatory hijab wearing and the death penalty in Iran, will begin a hunger strike “in solidarity” with the Bahá’í religious minority, her brother and husband said at a news conference in the capital Norway, on January 1. The eve of the Nobel Prize ceremony.
The activist, who suffered a heart attack in 2022, began a hunger strike in November against the lack of medical care in prison and the mandatory wearing of the Islamic veil, after she was refused to go to a hospital for an appointment because she refused to wear the hijab.
The Iranian Government considered the awarding of the prize to the activist as “a political act” and a measure of “pressure” from the West.
The journalist and activist has not seen her children, who are in Paris, for eight years and they spend long periods in solitary confinement.
Source: TSF
