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
