Photo: Narges Mohammadi IG
I have been on the same path since 1992. For me, struggle and resistance are defined as my course in life, and this is the course I have chosen.
—Narges Mohammadi, speaking to IranWire in 2020
On Friday, October 6, Narges Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.”
For some 30 years, Narges Mohammadi has been a fierce, courageous and selfless fighter against Iran’s Islamic Republic (IRI)—a misogynist theocracy. Over these years, she’s been arrested 13 times, convicted in sham trials five times, and sentenced a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes (i.e., whipping). She’s now serving a 10-year sentence for “anti-state propaganda” in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
Yet repeated imprisonments and torture, and tremendous personal sacrifices, even a heart attack in prison, haven’t stopped her. She’s continued to fight for Iran’s people, especially women, vigorously opposing the IRI’s medieval mandatory hijab law requiring women to cover their hair and bodies, as well as the sexual assault and harassment women face under the regime’s patriarchal rule. She’s been organizing prison protests and workshops, issued statements and articles, even written a book, White Torture, on the solitary confinement, sensory deprivation, and other forms of torture and abuse Iran’s prisoners suffer.
On the anniversary of the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini by Iran’s morality police, igniting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, Narges organized a protest in solidarity inside Evin, during which she and three other women prisoners burned their hijabs. The week before she was awarded the Nobel Prize, she and other prisoners posted a statement condemning the regime’s brutality against the oppressed Baluch people.
Narges Mohammadi has inspired thousands, if not millions, of Iranians—and people around the world—with her example.
On celebration inside Evin. Photo: Narges Mohammadi IG
“One thing that I really love about her is that she always lives for others,” her husband, journalist and activist Taghi Rahmani said after her award. “It’s really her mission in life to be the voice for the voiceless.” An example of this love and concern for others was her urgent statement in June 2023 about the alarming medical situation of another prisoner in Evin: “The life of political prisoner Nahid Taghavi is in danger.… How long will this torment continue?"
The IEC states, “Narges Mohammadi’s bravery, her unyielding spirit in defending her own as well as other people’s humanity, is an expression of the hope for a better future.”
After her Nobel Prize was announced, her family released a statement she had written:
Standing alongside the brave mothers of Iran, I will continue to fight against the relentless discrimination, tyranny and gender-based oppression by the oppressive religious government until the liberation of women.
Free Narges! Free All Iran’s Political Prisoners NOW!
Oppose Any U.S. Intervention or Aggression
The Nobel Prize has put an international spotlight on Narges. This is a moment to not only step up the fight for her freedom, but the freedom of ALL Iran’s political prisoners!
The Iranian people have suffered under the secular despotism of the U.S.-backed Shah, and now the theocratic despotism of the Islamic Republic. And they have also suffered a long history of imperialist intervention and domination, particularly over the past 70 years by the United States. No one should be deceived—the U.S. is not a force for good in Iran. And the U.S. imperialists should not be allowed to use Narges’ life, struggle and now award, to further their own reactionary imperialist schemes toward Iran.
As the IEC’s Emergency Appeal concludes:
We demand of the Islamic Republic of Iran: FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW!
We say to the U.S government: NO THREATS OR WAR MOVES AGAINST IRAN, LIFT U.S. SANCTIONS!
“The Lives of Iran’s Political Prisoners Hang in the Balance—We Must ACT Now.”
Sign and Spread the IEC’s Emergency Appeal
The IEC’s Emergency Appeal—“The Lives of Iran’s Political Prisoners Hang in the Balance—We Must ACT Now”—calls on “All those who stand for justice and yearn for a better world” to “rally to the cause of freeing Iran’s political prisoners NOW.”
This Appeal has been signed by thousands of people in some 50 countries—including Narges Mohammadi’s husband Taghi Rahmani, 2003 Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi (also from Iran), and many other prominent voices.
It is as urgent as ever. Acting now means signing this powerful Appeal yourself and getting more people, including more prominent voices of conscience internationally, to sign and circulate it. It means donating to its further publication and volunteering with the IEC.
Sources
Iranian Political Prisoner Narges Mohammadi in Extreme Danger - DON’T LET THIS FEARLESS RESISTER BE SILENCED, IEC, April 17, 2022
2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner is Narges Mohammadi, Iranian activist, Washington Post, October 6, 2023; Narges Mohammadi, Iranian Rights Activist, Receives Nobel Peace Prize, New York Times, October 6, 2023
For more information on Narges Mohammadi, see https://www.freeiranspoliticalprisonersnow.org/search?query=Narges+Mohammadi