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Iran Women’s Activist Narges Mohammadi Wins Peace Nobel

Published

2 years ago

October 6, 2023

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The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran, many of whom are removing their hijabs despite a harsh crackdown.

Mohammadi’s award comes after a wave of protests swept Iran following the death in custody a year ago of a young Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating Iran’s strict dress rules for women.

A 51-year-old journalist and activist, Mohammadi has spent much of the past two decades in and out of jail for her campaign against the mandatory hijab for women and the death penalty.

Speaking to AFP, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee urged Iran to release Mohammadi, a call echoed by the United Nations.

“I appeal to Iran: Do something dignified and release the Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi,” committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said.

The recent protests in Iran “accelerated the process of realising democracy, freedom and equality in Iran”, a process that is now “irreversible”, Mohammadi told AFP last month in a letter written from her prison cell.

She and three other women held with her at Tehran’s Evin prison burned their hijabs to mark the anniversary of Amini’s death on September 16.

– Crackdown –

Mohammadi, who flaunts long black curls and had been mentioned as a possible winner ahead of the announcement, was honoured “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”, Reiss-Andersen said.

“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,” she added.

Mohammadi is the vice-president of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre founded by Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who herself won the Peace Prize in 2003.

Iran is ranked 143rd out of 146 countries on the World Economic Forum’s gender equality ranking.

Authorities cracked down harshly on last year’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising — the words Reiss-Andersen used to begin Friday’s announcement, in English and Farsi: “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi”.

A total of 551 protesters, including 68 children and 49 women, were killed by security forces, according to Iran Human Rights, and thousands of others were arrested.

The uprising has continued, albeit under other forms.

In what would have been unthinkable a year ago, women now go out in public without the headscarf, in particular in Tehran and other big cities, despite the risks.

A 16-year-old girl is currently in a coma after being attacked on Sunday by female police officers tasked with enforcing the mandatory hijab among other things, according to the Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw.

Wearing the hijab is one of the pillars of the Islamic republic.

Authorities have stepped up controls, using surveillance cameras among other things, and have arrested actresses who post pictures of themselves on social media without the hijab.

In September, Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament announced heavier penalties for women who refuse to wear it.

– ‘No prospect of freedom’ –

“This year’s Peace Prize also recognises the hundreds of thousands of people who in the preceding year have demonstrated against the theocratic regimes policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women,” Reiss-Andersen said.

She called Mohammadi the “undisputed leader” of the uprising.

Mohammadi’s family said the prize was a “historic and profound moment for Iran’s fight for freedom”, while the United Nations called for “her release and the release of all human rights defenders jailed in Iran”.

Incarcerated this time since November 2021, Mohammadi has not seen her children, who live in France with her husband, for eight years.

Considered a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, she told AFP in her letter that she had “almost no prospect of freedom”.

She is the second Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize after Ebadi.

In 2003, Ebadi defied conservative Iranians by refusing to wear the hijab when she received her prize in Oslo.

If she remains behind bars, Mohammadi will not be able to make the trip to Oslo to receive her award at the annual prize ceremony on December 10.

The Peace Prize has on five occasions honoured jailed activists, including last year when it went to Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, whose prize was accepted by his wife, and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010, whose chair remained empty.

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Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

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US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”