Key points
- 01 In 1969, Shirin Ebadi became one of Iran's first female judges, later appointed President of Bench 24 in 1975, before the 1979 Revolution stripped all women judges of their positions.
- 02 After requalifying as a lawyer in 1992, she defended over 6,000 political cases without charge, founded multiple human rights organisations, and built a network of hundreds of lawyers and activists.
- 03 In 2003 she became the first Iranian and Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize; she was subsequently forced into exile in 2009 following state persecution of her family and colleagues.
01
Iran's first woman judge
At just 22 years old, in 1969, Shirin Ebadi became a judge in Tehran, entering the courtroom as one of Iran's very first female judges. Just six years later, in 1975, she was appointed President of Bench 24 (a judicial division of the Tehran court system). She was the first woman ever to preside over a court in Iran.
02
Stripped of authority, not of voice
With the rise of the Islamic Republic after the 1979 Revolution, all women judges were stripped of their robes and relegated to court clerks. Refusing to be silenced, Ebadi took early retirement and reinvented herself as a human rights lawyer.
03
Defender of the defenceless
Requalifying as a lawyer in 1992, she committed fully to defending political prisoners, regardless of the cost: "Not only did I not make money, 20 lawyers who worked with us did not make money. We had 6,000 political cases we defended without charge."
04
From lawyer to movement builder
In 1995 she co-founded Iran's Society for the Protection of Children. In 2001 she launched the Defenders of Human Rights Center with 12 co-founders, attracting 300 lawyers and activists in its first year. In 2006 she co-founded the Nobel Women's Initiative with five fellow laureates to back women's rights worldwide.
05
Recognition and retaliation
At 56, Shirin Ebadi became the first Iranian and Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on democracy and human rights. In the years that followed, her law center was shut down and her Nobel medal was confiscated from her bank safe. When authorities couldn't find her, they arrested her sister. Her husband was detained and coerced into making a televised false confession.
06
Exile and global voice
Forced into exile in 2009 after increased state repression, Ebadi relocated to London, where she continued her advocacy. She became an outspoken international voice for Iranian civil society, lecturing at major universities and speaking at forums including the UN and the EU Parliament. From exile, she documents the regime's tactics against her and others, and wrote Iran Awakening (2006) and Until We Are Free (2016).
« Any person who pursues human rights in Iran must live with fear from birth to death, but I have learned to overcome my fear. »
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