STOCKTON, Calif., May 1, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Shirin Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, will speak at University of the Pacific at 7 p.m. May 3 at the Faye Spanos Concert Hall. She was awarded the prize in 2003 for her significant efforts in spreading democracy and human rights and fighting for the rights of women and children in her country and around the world.
Ebadi is an attorney and founder of the Children's Rights Support Association in Iran. Her speech at Pacific is one of only two appearances on the West Coast. Ebadi's speech, titled "Iran Awakening: A Story of Revolution and Hope," is one of many lectures and events dealing with the Middle East at Pacific this year.
"With the precarious state of relations with Iran, Shirin Ebadi's comments and viewpoints are more important than ever before," said Margee Ensign, associate provost of international initiatives and dean of the School of International Studies at Pacific. "We are proud that she is coming to Pacific and look forward to hearing her comments about Iran as well as gender issues in the Middle East.."
Nobel laureate Ebadi was born in Hamadan, Iran, but her family moved to Tehran in 1948. She was admitted to the law department at University of Tehran in 1965 and passed the qualification exams to become a judge in 1969. She started her career as a judge in 1970, earned a master's degree in law in 1971 and became the first woman in Iran to preside over a legislative court in 1975.
After the Iranian revolution in 1979, she was forced to resign her post after conservative clerics insisted that women were prohibited to be judges under the rules of Islam. She was not allowed to practice law until 1993. During that time, she wrote many articles and books on Iranian law and child abuse cases. After she was given a law license again, she took on a large number of social cases and many cases that received widespread press attention, including several child abuse cases. She also represented the relatives of several journalists who were jailed or killed for doing their jobs. As a consequence, Ebadi has been imprisoned on numerous occasions.
Ebadi continues to be in the news with her campaign for equality. She recently issued a joint statement with United Nations Secretary General Irene Khan calling for an end to all discrimination against women in Iran. "We know there is a direct relationship between peace, justice, and respect for human rights. As long as women are denied human rights, anywhere in the world, there can be no justice and no peace," Ebadi and Khan stated. "Recognizing women's equal rights, therefore, is an essential requirement for the creation of strong, sustainable, and stable societies and ensuring that women enjoy equality with men in all areas of life are key steps to making human rights a universal reality."
Ebadi is not the only woman from the Middle East who will speak at Pacific in May. On May 16, Afghani activist and Pacific alumna Sakena Yacoobi will host a benefit with students and community members about her work in her native country to educate women and children. She also will receive an honorary doctorate during Pacific's Commencement on May 19.
Earlier this year, Pacific hosted a speech by Middle Eastern expert Juan Cole, professor of history at University of Michigan and president of the Global Americana Institute. During the past year, the University has hosted several discussions on Islam.
Dr. Ebadi's speech at Pacific will be available via streaming audio podcast live on May 3rd at 7:00 PM Pacific Time. Link to this audio stream is: rtsp://etsxserve.pacific.edu/ebadi.spd. The audio stream will go live at 6:45 p.m. Pacific on May 3.
Press and bloggers are invited to submit questions for Dr. Ebadi in advance or during her speech. Questions for Ebadi should be emailed with the subject line (Shirin Ebadi) to DeanSis@pacific.edu. Dr. Ebadi will answer selected questions during her presentation.
A few weeks following the speech, a link to the video podcast will be posted to the School of International Studies home page, http://sis.pacific.edu/.
For more information about Ebadi's visit, call the School of International Studies at 209.946.2650.
More on Ebadi can be found on the Web at: nobelpeaceprize.org/eng_lau_biography2003.html