Law School Sponsors Visit by Nobel Peace Prize Winner at UC Davis

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and social-justice activist who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, will give a free talk about human rights and freedom of speech at UC Davis on May 17.

Ebadi's lecture, "Human Rights, Democracy and Islam," will begin at 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Her speech will be in Farsi, but she will be accompanied by an English interpreter. Ebadi's lecture has been coordinated by event leaders on campus from University Outreach and International Programs, the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program, and the School of Law, all of whom see a special connection between Ebadi's message and the UC Davis community.

Ebadi's work in public-interest law sets an example for UC Davis law students, according to Kevin Johnson, the law school's associate dean for academic affairs. "We're particularly happy that Shirin Ebadi is coming to UC Davis because her dedication to human rights and social justice echoes the focus at the UC Davis School of Law," he said.

Ebadi, born in 1947 into a family of academics and practicing Muslims, moved to Tehran with her family when she was a 1-year-old girl. She received her law degree from University of Tehran in 1969 and began serving as a judge in the Department of Justice. She was the first woman in the history of Iranian justice to have served as a judge. While serving as a judge, she continued her education and earned a doctorate with honors in private law from University of Tehran in 1971. In 1975, she became the President of Bench 24 of the Tehran City Court.

Ebadi's career on the bench ended soon after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. "Since the belief was that Islam forbids women to serve as judges, I and other female judges were dismissed from our posts and given clerical duties," Ebadi said in her autobiography posted on the Nobelprize.org Web site. Although the women protested and the Iranian legal administrators promoted all former female judges to "experts" in the Justice Department, Ebadi said she requested an early retirement because she could not tolerate the situation any longer.

She was housebound for the next 13 years until obtaining a lawyer's license and setting up a private practice in 1992. Once licensed, Ebadi has litigated many cases, several of national renown, dealing with serial murder victims, freedom of expression issues in which journalists or their families have been accused or sentenced, child abuse and women's rights for mothers who have lost custody of their children. She is also a university professor.

Ebadi has been imprisoned several times for her work on religious freedom and free speech. Ms. Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy of peaceful solutions to Iran's complex social and cultural problems, as well as her legal advocacy on behalf of children, women, immigrants, and high profile criminal defendants.

You may obtain additional information about Shirin Ebadi at the following:

http://www.nobel.no/eng_lau_biography2003.html