Key takeaways:
- Narges Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in fighting the oppression of women in Iran.
- She was chosen from a list of over 350 nominations by a panel of experts in Norway.
- Mohammadi is the first Iranian to win the award since it was first awarded in 1901.
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian women’s rights advocate, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her work in fighting the oppression of women in her home country.
The former vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC) organization was chosen by a panel of experts in Norway from a list of just over 350 nominations.
Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced the prize in Oslo. “This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with with its undisputed leader, Nargis Mohammadi,” she said.
Mohammadi was arrested in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison for “forming and managing an illegal group”, among other charges. In 2019, Mohammadi and fellow prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian national, announced plans to go on hunger strike in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, to protest against the denial of medical treatment.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world and is given annually to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the cause of peace. Mohammadi is the first Iranian to win the award since it was first awarded in 1901.
The Nobel Committee said it was recognizing Mohammadi’s “long and non-violent struggle for the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of women and children, in Iran.”
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