Shadi Sadr, Iranian lawyer and women's rights activist, will not be
present in Washington to receive
her International Women of Courage award to
draw attention to the continued imprisonment of her peer, Shiva NazarAhari, to
whom she dedicates the award.
Shadi Sadr
Shadi Sadr, who was chosen as one of the ten women to receive the
International Women of Courage Award in 2010 for her political activism and
struggles for women's rights in Iran, was supposed to receive the award today,
March 10, in a ceremony in the presence of Hilary Clinton in Washington.
Shiva NazarAhari
Sahdi Sadr has announced that she will not attend the ceremony in order to draw
international attention to the continued imprisonment of Shiva NazarAhari, other
human and women's rights activists and journalists in Iran.
Shiva NazarAhari was arrested by Iranian authorities in December of 2010 in the
widespread arrest of the members of the Human Rights Reporters Committee. In a
video message, Sadr describes Shiva NazarAhari as one of the most courageous
women in the world who has bravely defended the rights of political prisoners.
Shadi Sadr maintains that the International Women of Courage award is an
opportunity for the women's struggles and movement in Iran to gain international
recognition.
Greater international visibility of the widespread and systematic violation of
human rights especially in suppressing civil society in the aftermath of the
June presidential election is also cited by Ms. Sadr as another achievement of
this award.
According to Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML), American foreign ministry
has decided not to screen Shadi Sadr's video message in today's ceremony.
WLUML has described this decision of the organizers as
"silencing the voice of women's protests and solidarity."
