Narges Mohammadi Wins Nobel Peace Prize: The Islamic Republic is 'Alien to the People of Iran' and 'Anti-Women'

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in a formal ceremony on Sunday, December 10, in Oslo, Norway, in the absence of Narges Mohammadi, who is currently imprisoned. The award was presented to her twin children on behalf of the Iranian human rights activist. During the ceremony, which was broadcast live by the Persian section of Voice of America, Kiana and Rahmani, the 17-year-old twin children of Narges Mohammadi, read her message to the attendees. In this message, the Nobel laureate expressed solidarity with 'the brave women and men of Iran' and hoped for 'the light of freedom and justice to shine upon Iran,' emphasizing that 'I extend my hand to all forces, movements, and personalities that strive for peace, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and democracy.' Narges Mohammadi stressed that the Islamic Republic is a 'religious tyranny' and an 'anti-women' government, highlighting the necessity of strengthening civil society in Iran and the international community's support for it. She pointed out that the current regime has the least popular legitimacy and responds to the people's demands with repression, killings, executions, and imprisonment. Mohammadi also listed the economic injustices in Iran under the Islamic Republic, including special privileges for officials' relatives, stating that the regime has plunged society into poverty, complicating the lives of the Iranian people. She described the Islamic Republic as a government 'alien to the people of Iran' that 'has blocked every movement towards improving the people's situation.' In her message, read by her children at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, she referred to the mandatory hijab as a disgraceful tool of oppression and enslavement of women under the repressive religious government, asserting that the hijab is not a symbol of Iranian culture. The ceremony was attended by the King, Queen, and Crown Prince of Norway, as well as several prominent figures, including Masoud Ghara-Khani, the Iranian-born president of the Norwegian Parliament. Following the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Narges Mohammadi, many calls for her release have been made from inside and outside Iran, but these requests have gone unanswered, and she remains in prison. Just hours before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, Narges Mohammadi, who has been denied visitation and phone contact as a punitive measure, announced that she would go on a hunger strike in protest of the gross and widespread human rights violations in Iran, in solidarity with the hunger strike of Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, Bahá'í women prisoners in Evin prison protesting the violation of the civil rights of Bahá'ís. The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes awarded annually by a foundation named after Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and inventor, stipulated that this prize should be awarded to someone who has made the greatest efforts for peace. Narges Mohammadi is the second Iranian woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, following Shirin Ebadi, who received it twenty years ago in 2003.