amnesiac
10th October 2003, 02:44 PM
The winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer. Her name was announced this morning in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Ms Ebadi, who was Iran's first woman judge before the Islamic revolution forced her to step down, for her work which is focused on the rights of women and children.
She won from a record field of 165 candidates which included one Pope John Paul II who has spent the past year mumbling increasingly biggoted hate filled comments about gay people and shaking a lot.
The Nobel Prize is worth 10m Swedish crowns (€1.12m) and will be handed out in Oslo on 10 December. Ms Ebadi is only the 11th woman to win since the peace prize was set up in 1901.
In Iran, reactions to the award reflected the split between President Mohammad Khatami's reformist government and the hardline fundamentalists who wield so much power in the country. Though the state media made no immediate mention of the win, Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a leading reformist figure, said the announcement was very good news for every Iranian.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Ms Ebadi, who was Iran's first woman judge before the Islamic revolution forced her to step down, for her work which is focused on the rights of women and children.
She won from a record field of 165 candidates which included one Pope John Paul II who has spent the past year mumbling increasingly biggoted hate filled comments about gay people and shaking a lot.
The Nobel Prize is worth 10m Swedish crowns (€1.12m) and will be handed out in Oslo on 10 December. Ms Ebadi is only the 11th woman to win since the peace prize was set up in 1901.
In Iran, reactions to the award reflected the split between President Mohammad Khatami's reformist government and the hardline fundamentalists who wield so much power in the country. Though the state media made no immediate mention of the win, Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a leading reformist figure, said the announcement was very good news for every Iranian.