Los Angeles, Oct 11: Iranians across the country celebrated yesterday after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, saying the first Muslim woman to win the honour can draw attention to the fight against oppression in the Middle East. News of the award spread rapidly in Los Angeles, where a third of the nation's 2,77,000 Iranian immigrants live. "I hope this will help the women in Iran and throughout the region," said Farideh Behrozi, who burst into tears when she heard the news. "I hope they recognise that if you fight, someone will listen. If you scream and holler and speak your piece, someone will hear." At Renaissance hair salon in west Los Angeles, Delba Jenab, who fled Iran 25 years ago, said she felt goosebumps after hearing that Ebadi won. "This is very exciting because this means doors are opening," said Jenab, who said that when she lived in Iran, police would stop her on the street if a strand of hair had escaped her head scarf.
Haleh Esfandiari, of the Middle East project at the Woodrow Wilson international centre for scholars in Washington DC, said the selection of Ebadi will improve the image of Iran around the world.
"Iran has been seen as this rogue state, a hostage taker," she said. "Now people will see the other side, that people are working for human rights, struggling and living their lives for a better society."
Bureau Report