A Nobel Peace Prize winner spoke about democracy, human rights in Iran, and Iran's relationship with the United States during a campus visit Monday.
Visiting speaker Shiri Ebadi served as a judge in Iran before the revolution in 1979, when she was demoted from her position due to new laws established immediately following the revolution. She went to law school after leaving the court and has since won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work with human rights in Iran.
Ebadi is the first Muslim and Iranian woman to receive this honor.
According to Ebadi, in Iran, the life of a woman is valued half as much as the life of a man. Men are allowed to have up to four wives while a woman may not leave the country without her husband's permission.
These laws are not compatible with Iranian culture,"" she said. ""These laws allow for discrimination based off of religious belief.""
Ebadi said it is possible to be a Muslim and respect human rights values. In Iran and most of the Middle East, democracy is limited because the people do not elect their leaders and freedom of speech is curtailed. Ebadi said despite this the Iranian government blames the people of the country.
""Governments do not get legitimacy clearly through the votes of the people but through human rights,"" she said. ""We need to understand the relationship between democracy and Iran.""
Ebadi emphasized democracy can only come to the Iranian people through their own efforts and not through the efforts of foreign troops.
She said in September of 1980 Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and destroyed 50 Iranian cities, some with chemical weapons. During this time the United States and Hussein were on ""good terms.""
""Democracy is not a gift that can be given to a nation,"" she said. ""People in the Middle East are dying and losing their lives because of these wars '¦ we love Iran and simply will not allow it to turn into another Iraq.""
Ebadi's speech was part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, which will next host Washington Post reporter Robin Wright Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater.
