Who Is Narges Mohammadi? Jailed Iranian Activist Who Won Nobel Peace Prize For 2023

Jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize this year by the Nobel Committee which recognised her 'fight against the oppression of women'.

Iranian Human Rights activist Narges Mohammadi, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2023.

Nobel Peace Prize: "For her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all" — this was what the Norwegian Nobel Committee said while announcing the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023, and awarded it to the jailed Iranian activist, Narges Mohammadi. The committee recognised her "brave struggle" and said it has come with "tremendous personal costs".

Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the prestigious 122-year-old prize, and the first since Maria Ressa of the Philippines won the 2021 award jointly with Russia’s Dmitry Muratov.

The press release from the Nobel Committee said the Iranian regime has arrested Mohammadi 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Narges Mohammadi is currently serving multiple sentences in Evin prison in Tehran, amounting to about 12 years' imprisonment, according to rights organisation Front Line Defenders, according to a report in The Guardian. Charges against her include spreading propaganda against the state.

From Young Physics Student To Human Rights Advocate

As a young physics student during the 1990s, Narges Mohammadi was already distinguishing herself as an advocate for equality and women’s rights. After finishing her studies, she began working as an engineer and was also writing in various reform-minded newspapers as a columnist.

In 2003, she became involved with the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran, an organisation founded by 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. Mohammadi was arrested for the first time in 2011 and sentenced to many years of imprisonment for her efforts to assist incarcerated activists and their families.

Bail And Rearrest 

Once out of prison on bail in 2013, Mohammadi once again immersed herself in a campaign against the use of the death penalty in Iran. According to the release by the Nobel Committee, since January 2022, more than 860 prisoners have been punished by death in Iran.

However, her activism against the death penalty led to her re-arrest in 2015. She was sentenced to additional years behind walls. After her return to prison, Narges Mohammadi opposed the regime’s systematic use of torture and sexualised violence against political prisoners, especially women, that is practised in Iranian prisons, the Nobel Committee said.

The In-Prison War

Despite being behind the bars, Mohammadi continued resisting the ill-treatment of the regime. In 2022, a wave of protests became known to the political prisoners held inside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Like always, Mohammadi assumed leadership and expressed support for the demonstrators and organised solidarity actions among her fellow inmates.

Later, the prison authorities imposed stricter conditions and prohibited Mohammadi from receiving calls and visitors. However, she managed to smuggle out an article which the New York Times published on the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s killing. The message was: "The more of us they lock up, the stronger we become."

"From captivity, Ms Mohammadi has helped to ensure that the protests have not ebbed out," the Nobel Committee said, adding "Narges Mohammadi is a woman, a human rights advocate, and a freedom fighter."