"Human Rights and Women's Rights in Islam"
A keynote address by Dr. Shirin Ebadi

Women's Leadership and Activism in the Muslim World
A symposium sponsored by the Naropa University Peace Studies Department and the Cordoba Initiative

Nalanda Events Center, Nalanda Campus, 6287 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder

The Naropa University Peace Studies Department and the Cordoba Initiative are honored to present a keynote address by Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist, lawyer and the 2003 Nobel peace laureate on Friday, October 9, 7 p.m. at the Nalanda Events Center.

The title of Dr. Ebadi's keynote address is "Human Rights and Women's Rights in Islam."

On Saturday, Oct. 10, Naropa University will host a daylong symposium, “Women’s Leadership
and Activism in the Muslim World.” Dr. Ebadi will participate in the opening panel of the symposium. Register for symposium. See program schedule.

This program is funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Cordoba Initiative.

Shirin Ebadi is a lawyer, human rights activist, and the recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her work defending women and children’s rights in Iran, and advocating an interpretation of Islam that is compatible with democracy and human rights. She is the first Iranian and Muslim woman to receive the prize. Ebadi received a law degree from the University of Tehran in 1965, and became one of the first female judges in Iran. In 1975, she was the first Iranian woman to preside over a legislative court. Following Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, Ebadi was demoted to the position of a clerk in the court she had presided over because the revolution deemed women unfit to serve as judges. Unable to accept the discrimination against her, she resigned, and although her application was repeatedly rejected, finally obtained a license to open a law firm. For the next two decades, Ebadi devoted her life to the promotion of women’s rights, the defense of children, and political activists. Her organization, the Association for Human Rights Advocates, provides pro bono legal service to political prisoners in Iran.

Shirin Ebadi has spoken out strongly against discrimination and injustice in her country, at times despite great risk to her own safety. In 2000, she spent a month in solitary confinement as a result of defending the family of a student killed by the police in protests in Tehran. Shirin Ebadi’s principal arena is the struggle for basic human rights and the fundamental value that political power in a community must be built on democratic elections. She favors dialogue as the best path to changing attitudes and resolving conflict, and as a conscious Muslim believes there is no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights.

Dr. Ebadi is the founder of three NGOs in Iran: The Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Child, The Association for Human Rights Advocates and the Organization against Mines in Iran. She is the author of fourteen books, including a memoir, Iran Awakening.

Ticket Options:

VIP Package
(reception with Dr. Ebadi, reserved seating for keynote, open seating for Symposium)
$250 ($138 of VIP Package is tax deductible)

Keynote Individual Tickets
$20

Symposium Individual Tickets
$75

Click HERE to register.

Additional Information on Dr. Ebadi's Life and Work

The 2003 Nobel Lecture

The 2003 Nobel Autobiography of Shirin Ebadi

The Nobel Women's Initiative

New York Times review of Shirin Ebadi's memoir Iran Awakening

"Human Rights and Civil Society in Iran: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi" with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom interview with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi