The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi is a blow to the Iranian government, which had previously accused the West of hypocrisy for showing “a disingenuous concern for Iranians”, writes the Spanish EFE news agency on Friday, quoted by Agerpres.
Young women in Iran have removed their headscarves during protestsPhoto: Salam Pix / Abaca Press / Profimedia Images
The decision regarding the Nobel comes while a new controversy is taking place in Iran after the hospitalization in a coma of a young woman who allegedly had an altercation with the authorities in the Tehran subway because she did not wear the Islamic veil.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday the awarding of the award to activist Narges Mohammadi “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”.
The same committee links Mohammadi’s activism to the protests sparked last year in Iran by the death of the young Mahsa Amini, who was in police custody for allegedly wearing the Islamic veil incorrectly.
Narges Mohammadi is currently in detention after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for “spreading propaganda against the state”. Her two children live in Paris.
Recognizing “the courage and struggle of Iranian women who defy oppression at their own peril”
The heads of the main institutions of the European Union congratulated her on Friday for the award she received. “Narges Mohammadi is a beacon of hope for women around the world. His fight for human rights and freedom inspires us all”, wrote the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, on the X social network.
The distinction “recognizes the courage and noble struggle of Iranian women who defy oppression at their own peril,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on the same network, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said at a press conference that this award “is a very important message that we definitely welcome with joy”.
And the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, congratulated the Iranian activist, about whom he wrote on the X social network that “she was brave in her fight against the oppression of women.”
Tehran accuses the West of “dishonest concern for Iranian women and girls”
The government in Tehran has not yet reacted, but on the day before the decision on the Nobel, it accused Western states of showing a false concern for Iranian women, following the comments of Western politicians about the incident with the young woman in the subway.
“Instead of making interventionist and biased comments, and showing disingenuous concern for Iranian women and girls, they should be more concerned about the medical staff and patients in the US, Germany and the UK,” the spokesman noted. of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, in Russia, a country allied to Iran, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he had no comment to make on the Nobel committee’s decision. “No, we have no reaction,” Peskov answered a question on the subject at his daily press conference.
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