Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Ebadi Hear a podcast of this interview: Ebadi See this interview in Farsi (pdf)

This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

This interview is also available in Farsi (pdf).

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our distinguished guest today is Shirin Ebadi who is the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner. She is an Iranian human rights lawyer who teaches at Tehran University and she has just written Iran Awakening with Azadeh Moaveni. Joining us in the studio is Banafsheh Keynoush, who will interpret.

1. Background ... educated parents ... overthrow of Mossadeq ... becoming a judge, and losing the position
2. Seeking Justice under Fundamentalism ... serving the cause of justice ... political prisoners ... re-affirming marital rights ... studying Islamic texts to challenge fundamentalist interpretations ... fighting the abuse of power
3. Juggling Career and Family ... 24 hours is a lot of time ... weakest members of society ... combatting dogma in children's education ... courage and faith ... targeted for assassination ... more on courage
4. Education and Democracy ... promoting understanding and awareness ... student movements ... first steps toward democracy ... separation of church and state ... framework and limitations on democracy ... democracy cannot be imposed ... seeking a dialogue between Iran and the US

Note: This interview was was conducted in English and Farsi; this text transcription is in English only.

© Copyright 2006, Regents of the University of California

Studio photos by John Quick. Site questions: Email iis_webmgr at berkeley.edu.