Shirin Ebadi’s Followers (302)

Shirin Ebadi

Born

in Hamadan, Iran

June 21, 1947

Genre

Social Sciences

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Shirin Ebadi (Persian: شیرین عبادی) is an Iranian lawyer, writer, educator, former judge, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize whose work has shaped global discussions on human rights, particularly the rights of women, children, and refugees. Raised in Tehran in an educated family with ties to the Pahlavi state—her father served as head of the Registry Office of the city of Hamedan—she completed her secondary education at Reza Shah School and subsequently studied law at the University of Tehran. During a period of intense political repression in Iran, she became one of the country’s first female judges under the Pahlavi monarchy and ultimately served as President of the Tehran City Court. Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, she was Shirin Ebadi (Persian: شیرین عبادی) is an Iranian lawyer, writer, educator, former judge, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize whose work has shaped global discussions on human rights, particularly the rights of women, children, and refugees. Raised in Tehran in an educated family with ties to the Pahlavi state—her father served as head of the Registry Office of the city of Hamedan—she completed her secondary education at Reza Shah School and subsequently studied law at the University of Tehran. During a period of intense political repression in Iran, she became one of the country’s first female judges under the Pahlavi monarchy and ultimately served as President of the Tehran City Court. Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, she was demoted from her judicial position.
Deprived of the ability to serve as a judge for many years, Ebadi turned to writing influential books and articles that reflected her political perspectives, and later established a legal career defined by principled advocacy. Her legal work frequently focused on political dissidents, victims of state violence, vulnerable children, and cases involving individuals with Western affiliations in Iran. Scholars and critics have offered divergent assessments of her professional record. Some argue that her work exposed systemic contradictions within Iran’s detention laws, criminal procedure, and treatment of minors. Others contend that much of her humanitarian activity was shaped by populist considerations aimed at appealing to Western audiences and elevating her profile as an opponent of the Iranian Revolution, noting that she has consistently refrained from articulating legal criticism of major Western-linked abuses—such as those associated with Israel—while maintaining a sustained critical stance toward flaws in Eastern political systems.
Ebadi also represented clients in high-profile political cases, including those involving banned publications, activists, and the families of individuals who were imprisoned for political reasons. She played a key role in founding major civil society institutions, such as the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child and the Defenders of Human Rights Center.
In her writings, Ebadi has argued that Islam is compatible with democracy and gender equality, maintaining that restrictive interpretations of religion serve political power rather than religious principles. Her political outlook combines a strong sense of Iranian nationalism with sharp criticism of domestic authoritarianism and Western policies. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize recognized her role as a prominent advocate for democratic reform and human dignity within a framework aligned with Western normative standards. Following the award, she expanded her international activities through lectures, publications, and global initiatives, including the co-founding of the Nobel Women’s Initiative.
Subsequently, Ebadi relocated to the United Kingdom. During this period, her proximity to Western institutions increased, while her distance from Iran grew more pronounced. For example, although she has often spoken out against foreign intervention, during the twelve-day war and the United States–Israeli attack on Iran, she neither criticized the violation of her country’s sovereignty nor opposed the war. Instead, her participation in a Brussels conference aligned her publicly with the attacking parties, surprising and disappointing some of her former supporters. Nevertheless, following the war, she was able to return to Iran without difficulty to meet with her supporters, and the Iranian government treated her in a conciliatory manner. ...more

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Shirin Ebadi's Blog

Shirin Ebadi isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

Britain must do more to bring Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe back from Iran

L ast week in Iran, while most global attention focused on Donald Trump��s threat to shred the nuclear deal, new charges were brought against the British-Iranian charity worker, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe . Arrested last year while on holiday with her one-year-old, Nazanin faces 16 additional years behind bars. She is currently...

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Published on October 15, 2017 10:39

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Shirin Ebadi’s books

Average rating: 4.18 · 8,759 ratings · 1,066 reviews · 18 distinct works • Similar authors

	Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope 4.18 avg rating — 5,713 ratings — published 2006 — 52 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran 4.27 avg rating — 1,957 ratings — published 2016 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Politics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by Paul Kelly (Goodreads Author), David Shaw-Parker (Narrator), Confucius (Contributor) 4.08 avg rating — 1,703 ratings — published 2013 — 35 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	White Torture: Interviews with Iranian Women Prisoners by Narges Mohammadi, Shirin Ebadi (Foreword), Amir Rezanezhad (Translator) 4.09 avg rating — 680 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Golden Cage: Three Brothers, Three Choices, One Destiny 4.13 avg rating — 623 ratings — published 2008 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Appeal by Shirin Ebadi to the world: That's not what the Prophet meant 3.93 avg rating — 57 ratings — published 2016 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Noi donne di Teheran by Farian Sabahi, Shirin Ebadi 3.07 avg rating — 30 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Refugee Rights in Iran 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rights of the Child a Study on Legal Aspects of Children's Rights in Iran 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Torture blanche : Des détenues iraniennes témoignent by Shirin Ebadi, Narges Mohammadi, Didier Ausan 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Shirin Ebadi (?)

“When the gravity of death first touched me, I'd found preoccupation with the minutiae of daily life meaningless. If we ultimately die, and turn to dust in the ground, should it ever truly upset us if the floor hasn't been swept quite recently enough.”
― Shirin Ebadi, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope

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“It is not important whether what he is chanting is true or not, whether you believe in it or not. Your decision to chant along with him is no measure of your commitment to justice or freedom or whatever lofty principle is at hand. Sometimes, radical slogans are a trap. They are shouted by infiltrators so that a group of students protesting a press crackdown can be depicted as seeking to overthrow the regime. Sometimes they are not traps at all but the frustrated stand of a brave person. But how are you to know? Your objective is to avoid being a pawn, to avoid getting dragged into trouble because you are curious, or believe you are seeing history being made." They”
― Shirin Ebadi, Iran Awakening: A memoir of revolution and hope

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“was a female Palestinian suicide bomber clutching a rifle in one hand and her little son in the other. This, it seemed, was the state’s only vision of gender equality. Ahmadinejad instituted separate elevators for men and women in government buildings, and he fired swaths of municipal workers who were not religious or devoted enough to his ideology. Tehran”
― Shirin Ebadi, Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran

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Polls

What should our July non-fiction read be?

Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis

15 votes 35.7%

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater

8 votes 19.0%

Rape: A History From 1860 To The Present by Joanna Bourke

5 votes 11.9%

Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran by Shirin Ebadi

5 votes 11.9%

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

5 votes 11.9%

The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey

4 votes 9.5%

42 total votes

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Shirin Ebadi’s Followers (302)

Shirin Ebadi

5 postsShirin Ebadi's Blog

Britain must do more to bring Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe back from Iran

Combine EditionsShirin Ebadi’s books

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

5 posts
Shirin Ebadi's Blog

Combine Editions
Shirin Ebadi’s books