Peace laureate Ebadi on human rights

“Her talk is of course of great interest to everyone in light of recent events in northern Africa and Syria. To hear a jurist who has truly experienced the problems speak about human rights can also inspire many students to become interested in this sphere of law,” says Mona Strindberg, president of the Study Council of the Association of Law Students at the Department of Law and the person who took the initiative for the lecture.

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian jurist and human rights activist and one of the first women judges in Iran. In 1975 she became head of the court in Teheran but was forced to leave office following the 1979 revolution, when conservative Islamists took power. Since then Ebadi has worked as a lawyer and also taught at Teheran University. In 2003 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle for democracy and human rights.

Shirin Ebadi is a champion of basic human rights such as democracy, equality before the law, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. She has primarily devoted her efforts to strengthening the position of women and children in society. Ebadi has also fearlessly participated in the public debate and become known far outside her home country. As a lawyer she has taken on several politically controversial cases and often irritated religious conservatives in Iran. Ebadi has also been imprisoned multiple times for her commitment. Several of her books on human rights have been translated into English, including History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran (2000). Ebadi’s memoires Iran Awakening was published in 2006. (Fact source: Nationalencyklopedin)

The invitation came from the Study Council of the Association of Law Students and the Department of Law at Uppsala University.

Time and place: October 8, 6.30 in the Grand Auditorium.