Nagres Mohammadi has been Awarded with the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize
Natalie Williams
Chief at Native Incorporated - NAT Geodesics - Domes For The People - Head Mistress to S T E A M Institute New York
Nagres Mohammadi has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The year is 2023.
I heard the big news on NPR.? Nagres Mohammadi has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The award is in recognition of her sacrifice and suffering. Most of the disimpassioned news reports of her achievements ‘tip toes’ around the obvious - SLAVERY.
Any mention of Islam, and the religious restrictions imposed upon women since ‘the Taliban’ have taken control of Iraq are omitted; for fear of retribution at the revelation of these truths.
Nagres Mohammadi is still jailed - for continuing in her ‘fight’ for human rights; In her demand that women too - “ be free”.
The facts are these:? She has been jailed indefinitely and may face up to 31 years in prison, and 154 lashes for her advocacy for the rights of women, and the furtherance of human rights in the now ‘Taliban controlled’ Islamic Republic of Iran.? She is a former University professor; and a follower of another Human Rights Advocate Shirin Ebadi, who was also punished for having expressed her ideas; and who had also won a Nobel Peace Prize for her life’s work in 2003.
Shirin Ebadi “for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children”
In the media that I have heard and read, I notice that there was not much criticism of the Taliban, the religion of Islam, or the even the issue of women’s oppression noted on the news in this country.? I believe that this is due to fears of retribution.? But -? the facts are stated.? In the background are observations; such as:? “There is no pathway out of Islam”.
Poetically, - Freedom and Slavery are counter weights. It is historically known; that “the Arabs” had started the first slave trade, and had actively practiced in a number of others through time. It is no surprise to observe that some such slavery practice has continued by them under the cloak of religion, with respect to women.? The question is - what to do about it?
In the United States today; we can now see female refugees, from such regions; which wear the hadjib head scarf, here;
hijab | hi?j?b, hi?jab |
noun
a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women.
? the religious code which governs the wearing of the hijab.
or the even, the smothering and partially blinding Burka.
bur·ka | ?b?rk? | (also burkha, burqa)
noun
a long, loose garment covering the whole body from head to feet, worn in public by many Muslim women.
ORIGIN
from Urdu and Persian burqa‘, from Arabic burqu‘.
One would think that - on the surface; these subjugated women could end these practices once they arrive here; in a ‘free country’ - but most do not.? The hope of some freedom and education is in place for their young daughters; who may be allowed to indulge in western dress, and even receive an education here.
Once they have escaped from the countries which practice these overt religion based female oppressions ( and far worse, that which we do not overtly see…such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, pregnancy, child bearing & child rearing).? These ‘Islamic Cultural practices’ often continue against these women illegally, in their adopted countries.
Nagres Mohammadi both wrote and spoke out against such practices, and was more than silenced for having dared to.? That is courage.? That exemplifies bravery.? She is indeed worthy of recognition through a Nobel Prize for Peace.
The statement “ WE ARE THE LEADERS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR “ ; is apt.? I, and many others would support her if we could; but we must recognize that, ultimately; this will, and must be their ( the Women of Iran’s ) revolution to make.
As we sit on the sidelines, waiting, watching, and rooting for the underdog; I cannot help but note the similarities of the women’s plight under the Taliban in Iran to that of other movements which I have personally experienced - the Black, Women’s & Indigenous movements in the United States.
I leave you with these impressive quotations, in the hope that it will provide Nagra Mohammadi - and her followers - with strength; as she endures the punishments of living to her principles; and for daring to make the lives of women, and of all human beings better, in present day Iran.
Andrea Dworkin
" The genius of any slave system is found in the dynamics which isolate slaves from each other, obscure a common condition, and make united rebellion against the oppressor inconceivable."
Bob Marley
“Free Yourselves of Mental Slavery.? None, But Ourselves, Can Free Our Minds”
Frederick Douglas
“Power Concedes Nothing Without Demand. It Never Has, and it Never Will.”
Harriet Tubman
“I Freed a Thousand Slaves. I Could have Freed a Thousand more;
if They Only Knew that They Were Slaves”.
John Lennon
“ Woman is the Nigger of the World; She’s the Slave of the Slave - Oh Yes, She Is….”
The same tactics used to oppress and retain the slavery of the Negro both world wide, and in the United States are in evidence.? Open brutality & coercion.? Explicit endangerment and exploitation. Presumsions of superiority to the authoritarian in control.? Lower social status, absolute dependence on the ‘master’, religious texts which support the continuance of the system of slavery which limits the intellectual and physical capacity of the ‘slave’.? Use of cultural, physical, educational, financial, political, legal and psychological powers over the enslaved persons which prohibit them from improving their lot in life.
These tactics include an inability to earn money independently, confinement to segregated areas,? limited ability to ‘travel’, limited education, identification and categorization due to physical features which are used to exploit and to identify them as slaves.? All enforced by claims of ‘ownership’; confinement and brutality. These features are also used prevent escape and perpetuate slavery onto subsequent generations.
The recognition of Nagres Mohammadi reminded me of when Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the? Nobel Peace prize in 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. “for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population”
Martin Luther King Jr. was a brilliant scholar and eloquent speaker. His Baptist faith moved him to become a minister.? He became a civil rights advocate who used his church pulpit to demand equality for Black people in America.? Ultimately, Dr. King influenced a change in the laws of this nation [ The United States ] regarding the practice of separation of the races ( segregation) and the voting rights act.? He was assassinated for his efforts to uplift Black Americans.
America has gone through 400 years of ‘chattel slavery’.
slave trade | ?slāv ?trād |
noun historical
the procuring, transporting, and selling of human beings as slaves, in particular the former trade in African blacks as slaves by European countries and North America.
DERIVATIVES
slave trader | ?slāv ?trād?r | noun
Chattel slavery definition,
the enslaving and owning of human beings and their offspring as property, able to be bought, sold, and forced to work without wages, as distinguished from other systems of forced, unpaid, or low-wage labor also considered to be slavery.
See more.
Arab slave trade refers to various periods in which a slave trade has been carried out under the auspices of Arab peoples or Arab countries. Examples include:. Trans-Saharan slave trade. Indian Ocean slave trade. Barbary slave trade.
Negro people were stolen from Africa, brought to America, and forcibly made to work until they died.? Their children too; suffered the same fate. Once slavery was repealed nationally in the US in 1863; various mechanisms kept the legally freed Negro impoverished and educationally limited.? Terrorization, Discrimination and Segregation thwarted Negro advancement.? And, still do.
Jailed a multitude of times for his objection to the Jim Crow laws of his day, MLK Jr took a stand against the unjust racially based laws of the land in his day; so effectively that he influenced US policy, which resulted in changed laws, allowing the Negro to enjoy the use of public facilities, schools and to actually have their vote counted.
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Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. reminds me of the other’ Black liberation activist who lived at that time - Malcolm X. Malcolm X chose to use a letter X, rather than carry the slave surname the he was born into.? He renounced every once of white blood that flowed through his veins.? Being of light complexion; he recognized that all politics is personal; and the mixing of the races by force such that profits were made through the creation of new mixed race slave babies from white masters explained both his complexion and his stance against white power rule.? He too, was assassinated.
Malcolm X embraced the religion of Islam in his spiritual journey, largely because the Moslems treated every man with dignity; regardless of his race.? This was revelatory for Malcolm X; as a light skinned Black man constantly facing racial discrimination and lack of opportunity in AmericaKKKa.
This years, Nobel Prize winner - is a women; currently jailed by a regime that insists that women continue to be slaves according to the Authoritarian dictates and interpretations of certain religious texts. Her books - are banned in Iran.? Her body is behind bars.? She has been separated from her family. She too faced discrimination and lack of opportunity in her country.
The Nobel Prize Awards gets attention largely because of the amount of prize money that is awarded.? Narges Mohammadi was awarded over one million dollars as part of her Peace Prize.? These funds will possibly be used to further her activity in forwarding women’s & human rights in Iran.? OR it may be confiscated by “The Taliban” - and likely used to effect the opposite.
The Nobel Prize itself expresses this bi-polar opposition.? It is named after a chemist, who had made his fortune selling dynamite; an explosive.
No·bel, Alfred Bernhard | nō?bel |
(1833–96), Swedish chemist, engineer, and philanthropist. He invented dynamite in 1866, making a large fortune that enabled him to endow the prizes that bear his name.
dy·na·mite | ?dīn??mīt |
noun
a high explosive consisting of nitroglycerine mixed with an absorbent material and typically molded into sticks.
? something that has the potential to generate extreme reactions or to have devastating repercussions: that policy is political dynamite.
? informal an extremely impressive or exciting person or thing: both her albums are dynamite | [as modifier] : a chick with a dynamite figure.
? informal, dated a narcotic, especially heroin.
verb [with object]
blow up (something) with dynamite: he threatened to dynamite a major hydroelectric dam.
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and was patented in 1867. It rapidly gained wide-scale use as a more robust alternative to the traditional black powder explosives. It allows the use of nitroglycerine's favorable explosive properties while greatly reducing its risk of accidental detonation.
This substance was used to destroy nature ( in such activities as blasting through rock ) for building projects; but could also be used to kill people.? As some measure of amends for his contribution to crimes against humanity; Alfred Nobel bequeathed his fortune upon his death to create and maintain the annually awarded Nobel Peace Prize, and other recognitions to the better advancement of Humanity.
Through these recollections of ‘Human rights freedom fighters - I note the words of Harriette Tubman.? A black woman of remarkable versatility. She was known as the ‘Moses’ of her people; and as a “Conductor of the Underground Railroad”
How many of us - are slaves; without knowing it?? How many of us would choose to escape with our own ‘freedom’, even if it meant leaving their family members; parents, children, brothers or sisters behind?? Harriette Tubman risked her life each time that she returned to the slave holding? America South to guide escaped ‘run-away slaves’ to freedom in the North of what was to become, the United States.? Her first trips were to free her family members.
Who of us would have had the bravery of Harriette Tubman? Harriette Tubman also served in an unofficial capacity as as a scout, and as a nurse in the 1860’s for the Union army.? She was nicknamed ‘General Harriette’, and was awarded a meager pension from the Union Army in her aged years; when she settled in Auburn, NY.? In her young adulthood, her tactical? skills allowed her to lead Union soldiers on hilltops to perform a river side raid of a Confederate prison encampment.? This was a critical win for the Union Army, in the Civil War; which liberated thousands of prisoners.
Under the times of American Slavery, there was a white woman who objected to slavery; continuously wrote about it, and advocated for it’s abolition.? Harriette Beecher Stowe.? She wrote a book entitled: "Uncle Tom’s Cabin".? This book exposed the horrors endured by black people living under slavery.
It was said in some circles, that her book had sparked the Civil War in the United States.? One of her most famous quotations is: “To hold a slave, enslaves the master too”.
It is the writers, and the activists - who influence, sound the alarms, and educate.? I encourage my readers to research further on the authors that were mentioned above, and to honor their sacrifices by actually reading their books and biographies.
Written, Researched; with remembrances by:
? Natalie M. Williams
NAACP Utica / Oneida County NY
POET LAUREATE 2023-4
Below is what some media and wikipedia had to say about Narges Mohammadi:
Narges Mohammadi
Awards: Nobel Peace Prize
Education: Imam Khomeini International University
Nationality: Iranian
What we covered
Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian women’s rights advocate, has won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous struggle against the oppression of women in Iran and relentless fight for social reform.
While behind bars, she was awarded the prestigious prize on Friday for her efforts “to promote human rights and freedom for all”, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“Her brave struggle has come with tremendous personal costs. Altogether, the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said in Oslo during the announcement.
Mohammadi, 51, is one of Iran’s leading human rights activists who has campaigned for women’s rights and the abolition of the death penalty.
She is currently serving multiple sentences in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison amounting to about 12 years imprisonment, according to the Front Line Defenders rights organisation, one of the many periods she has been detained behind bars. Charges include spreading propaganda against the state.
Mohammadi is the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, a non-governmental organisation led by Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
She told The New York Times after the win she would never stop striving for democracy and equality – even if that meant staying in prison.
“I will continue to fight against the relentless discrimination, tyranny and gender-based oppression by the oppressive religious government until the liberation of women,” the newspaper quoted her as saying in a statement.
"A woman, a human rights advocate, and a freedom fighter”
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Narges Mohammadi “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.
This year’s peace prize also recognises the hundreds of thousands of people who, in the preceding year, have demonstrated against Iran’s theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women. The motto adopted by the demonstrators – “Woman – Life – Freedom” – suitably expresses the dedication and work of Narges Mohammadi.
The 2023 peace prize laureate
Narges Mohammadi is a woman, a human rights advocate, and a freedom fighter. Her brave struggle for freedom of expression and the right of independence has come with tremendous personal costs. Altogether, the regime in Iran has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes.
Narges Mohammadi is still in prison.