Iranian Activist Shirin Ebadi Wins Nobel Peace Prize by BBC World News / ABC News 11:22pm 10th Oct, 2003   12th October, 2003 ( Published by ABC News Online).    Nobel winner demands Islamic punishments cease.    Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has called for an end to Islamic punishments in her country and their replacement by modern penalties "as in all democratic countries".    "Stoning, (and) the amputation of limbs must be abolished," she told the French newspaper Le Monde in response to a question about what reforms she would like to see introduced in Iran.    Ms Ebadi, 56, a human rights lawyer, is the first Muslim woman to be awarded a Nobel peace prize and the first Iranian to receive any Nobel award.    She is due to return to Tehran, where her award has aroused a mixed reaction, on Tuesday, according to a human rights organisation in Paris, where she is staying at present and giving a round of interviews.    She told Le Monde that the Iranian Islamic Republic could not continue if it did not evolve and called for a change to the electoral law.    "The most important thing now is that the Government proposal for change to the law on elections be adopted. Let people be able to elect freely their representatives in Parliament."    If the proposals were blocked by the (conservative) Revolutionary Guards' Council "the Iranian people will boycott the elections due to take place in March, as they did last year with municipal elections".    Ms Ebadi said she supported the separation of the state and religion.    "The position I take is not against Islam. There are grand ayatollahs who want the separation of the state and religion."    As for the absence of democracy in Islamic countries, she said: "It is not the fault of Islam but of corrupt regimes in all Muslim countries which unfortunately use this pretext to justify their illegitimate government."    But she opposed the use of violence to change the type of government in Iran as well as any outside intervention.    10 October, 2003, (Published by BBC World News).    The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian campaigner for human rights, noted for her work in promoting the rights of women and children.    Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the five-member selection committee, paid tribute to Ms Ebadi's work both at home and abroad saying that she understood that "No society can be seen as democratic without women being represented".    On hearing of her victory 56-year-old Ms Ebadi, who is in Paris at the moment, said: "I'm a Muslim, so you can be a Muslim and support democracy. It's very good for human rights in Iran, especially for children's rights in Iran. I hope I can be useful."    Ms Ebadi, a lawyer well known throughout Iran, was the country's first female judge, but was forced to resign following the Islamic Revolution in 1979.    "As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, and far beyond its borders," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement announcing the decision. The committee said she was a "sound professional, a courageous person, and has never heeded the threat to her own safety".    The result surprised observers worldwide - Pope John Paul II was the bookies' favourite to scoop the prestigious award this year amid feverish speculation that he is nearing death. The Nobel committee emphasised that its choice should be seen as a statement about human rights.    "This is a message to the Iranian people, to the Muslim world, to the whole world, that human value, the fight for freedom, the fight for rights of women and children should be at the centre," Mr Mjoes said.    " I hope the award of the peace prize to Ebadi can help strengthen and lend support to the cause of human rights in Iran," he added. Ms Ebadi is the 11th woman to win the prize and the third Muslim.    The BBC's Tehran correspondent Jim Muir says that for the Iranian to win is an enormous boost for human rights campaign there and will be a source great delight for her supporters. However, he also said that the award will be something of an embarrassment for Iran. "Hardliners who run the judiciary will see it as outsiders now trying to intervene in Iranian politics. It is an embarrassment to them to see someone they have vilified held up as a shining example."    Even as news of the award was hitting front pages worldwide, Iranian state TV made no mention of it, our correspondent said. .    (Ebadi is the 11th woman to win the Nobel peace prize).
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