Nobel winner to discuss women’s rights

A human rights activist from Iran and a Canadian who became the focal point for human rights abuses in the aftermath of 9/11 will both be coming to campus as part of the President’s Distinguished Lectures program.

Shirin Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, will speak on March 3 at 8 p.m. in the University Centre Farquhar Auditorium. The focus of her presentation will be women’s rights and religious freedom.

As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and academic, Ebadi is credited as being a driving force behind family law reform in Iran through her work to seek changes in divorce law and inheritance legislation.

In recognizing her in 2003, the Nobel Prize committee noted that she had “never heeded the threat to her own safety” throughout her outspoken campaigns for democratic reform and greater rights for Iranian women and children.

Although her presentation is free and open to the public, seating is reserved and tickets should be booked in advance through the UVic Ticket Centre at 721-8480 or www.auditorium.uvic.ca.

On March 11, as part of another President’s Distinguished Lecture, Mahar Arar and Monia Mazigh will participate in a panel discussion on the human rights issues arising from the tightened security measures adopted by governments in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.