Nobel Peace Prize: Iranian Narges Mohammadi secretly sends message from her cell

“The victory is not easy, but it is clear”: Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, secretly sent a message of gratitude from her cell in Tehran. The 51-year-old activist and journalist expressed her “most sincere gratitude” to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Read in French by his daughter Kiana Rahmani, it was published on the official Nobel Prize website.

Narges Mohammadi also once again criticizes the obligation placed on women in Iran to wear the veil and lashes out at the Iranian authorities.

“The compulsory hijab is a major source of domination and repression in society, aimed at maintaining and perpetuating an authoritarian religious government,” she states in the voice of her 17-year-old daughter, a refugee in France along with the rest of his family. . “A government that has institutionalized deprivation and poverty in society for 45 years. The government is built on lies, deceit, deception and intimidation. A government that, with its belligerent policies, has endangered peace and stability in the region and the world,” she said.

“We, the Iranian people, strive for democracy, freedom, human rights and equality.”

Narges Mohammadi, arrested 13 times, sentenced five times to 31 years in prison and 154 lashes, and imprisoned again since 2021, is one of the main faces of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in Iran. The movement, which has seen women remove their veils, cut their hair and demonstrate in the streets, was sparked by the death last year of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini after she was arrested in Tehran for failing to comply with a strict Islamic dress code. The movement was subjected to severe repression.

On Saturday, 17-year-old Iranian high school student Armita Garavand died after a month in a coma. Several NGOs claim she was attacked on the subway by morality police, responsible for enforcing women’s obligation to wear the veil in public. Authorities deny this and say they are worried.

“We, the Iranian people, strive for democracy, freedom, human rights and equality. The Islamic Republic is the main obstacle to the realization of this national demand,” says Narges Mohammadi. “We strive through solidarity and the power of a non-violent and unstoppable process to overthrow this authoritarian religious government and restore Iran’s honor and human dignity,” she emphasizes from Evin prison. And in conclusion: “Victory is not easy, but it is obvious.”

The circumstances under which the activist managed to convey her message are unknown. On October 6, the Nobel Committee awarded her the prestigious Peace Prize, praising “her struggle against the oppression of women in Iran and her struggle to promote human rights and freedom for all.”