NAFSA 2019 Annual Conference & Expo

Join peers and experts at the premier global professional learning and networking event for all international educators and organizations that support international education for the NAFSA 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, "Global Leadership, Learning, and Change."

Up Close with Dr. Shirin Ebadi

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, author, and lecturer, Dr. Shirin Ebadi shares her insights in this Up Close interview from NAFSA 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Ebadi discusses a wide variety of topics, including the recent travel ban, acceptance of displaced refugees, and how she remains hopeful despite the rise of violent extremism and conflict around the world.

 

About Dr. Ebadi

As the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi continues her work fighting for human rights with a specific focus on her native Iran.

Dr. Ebadi won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in promoting human rights, particularly for women, children, and political prisoners in Iran. One of the first female judges in Iran, Dr. Ebadi also was the first woman to serve in the role of Chief Justice.

After being forced out of the judiciary as a result of the 1979 revolution, Dr. Ebadi later became an attorney in private practice defending the rights of political dissidents. Her work led to her being arrested numerous times and receiving death threats. Despite now living in exile, Dr. Ebadi remains committed to her mission of speaking out against human rights abuses and advocating for legal reforms in her country.

Dr. Ebadi is the founder of several organizations, including the Defenders of Human Rights Center, is co-founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, and launched the Million Signatures Campaign, a campaign demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in Iranian law.

She frequently lectures at universities across the world and is the author of 13 books, including her memoir Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country and the recently published Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran. Dr. Ebadi earned her master's, juris doctor, and PhD degrees from the University of Tehran.