Narges Mohammadi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Narges Mohammadi
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| نرگس محمدی | |
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| Born | 21 April 1972 Zanjan, Iran
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| Other names | Narges Safie Mohammadi |
| Education | Qazvin International University (BS) |
| Organization |
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| Movement | Neo-Shariatism |
| Spouse(s) |
Taghi Rahmani
(m. 2001) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards |
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Narges Mohammadi (Persian: نرگس محمدی; born 21 April 1972) is a brave human rights activist from Iran. She works to protect people's rights and freedoms. She is a leader at the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), an organization that helps people. Another famous activist, Shirin Ebadi, who also won the Nobel Peace Prize, leads this group.
Narges Mohammadi has spoken out strongly against rules that force women in Iran to wear a hijab. She believes women should have the freedom to choose. In 2016, she was sent to prison for 16 years. Her "crime" was trying to stop the death penalty in Iran. She was let out in 2020 but put back in prison in 2021. From prison, she has shared stories about how women are treated, including being held alone in small cells.
In October 2023, while still in prison, Narges Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. She received this huge honor for her "fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all." The government of Iran did not agree with this decision.
In November 2024, Narges Mohammadi had a medical procedure in Iran. She was quickly sent back to prison, which worried many people about her health.
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Early Life and Activism
Narges Mohammadi was born on April 21, 1972, in Zanjan, Iran. She grew up in different cities in Iran. She went to Qazvin International University and studied physics. She also became an engineer.
While at university, Narges started writing articles for the student newspaper. She wrote about women's rights. She was arrested a couple of times for joining student meetings. She also loved mountain climbing but was stopped from joining climbs because of her political activities.
After university, Narges worked as a journalist. She wrote for several newspapers that wanted to see changes in Iran. She also wrote a book of essays about politics. In 2003, she joined the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). This group works to protect human rights. She later became the vice president of the organization.
In 1999, Narges married Taghi Rahmani, who was also a journalist who wanted reforms. He was arrested many times. In 2012, Taghi moved to France after spending 14 years in prison. Narges stayed in Iran to continue her important human rights work. Narges and Taghi have twin children.
Why Narges Mohammadi Was Imprisoned
Narges Mohammadi has been arrested and imprisoned many times because of her work for human rights.
First Arrests
Her first arrest was in 1998. She was put in prison for a year because she spoke out against the Iranian government. In 2010, she was called to court again for being part of the DHRC. She was briefly released but then arrested again and held in Evin Prison. Her health got worse in prison, and she developed a condition that made her lose muscle control. After a month, she was released to get medical help.
Sentences and Appeals
In 2011, Narges was found guilty of "acting against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the government." She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. She said the court compared her human rights work to trying to overthrow the government. In 2012, an appeals court reduced her sentence to six years. She was arrested on April 26 to begin this sentence.
Many groups around the world protested her sentence. The British Foreign Office said it was "another sad example" of Iran trying to silence human rights defenders. Amnesty International called her a "prisoner of conscience" and asked for her immediate release. Reporters Without Borders also worried about her safety in prison. In July 2012, a group of lawmakers from different countries asked for her release. On July 31, 2012, Narges Mohammadi was released from prison.
Later Arrests and Campaigns
In 2014, Narges Mohammadi gave a speech at the grave of Sattar Beheshti, a person who died in prison. A video of her speech became very popular online. This led to her being called to court again.
On May 5, 2015, Narges Mohammadi was arrested once more. She was sentenced to ten years in prison for starting a group called "Legam." This group worked to stop the death penalty. She also received five years for "assembly and collusion against national security." Another year was added for "propaganda against the system" because she spoke to international news and met with a European Union official.
In January 2019, Narges Mohammadi and another prisoner, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, went on a hunger strike. They were protesting being denied medical care in prison. In July 2020, she showed signs of COVID-19 but seemed to recover. On October 8, 2020, Narges Mohammadi was released from prison.
In March 2021, she wrote the introduction for a report on the death penalty in Iran.
In May 2021, a court sentenced Narges Mohammadi to two and a half years in prison, 80 lashes, and fines. The charges included "spreading propaganda against the system." She did not respond to the summons to serve this sentence because she felt it was unfair.
On November 16, 2021, Narges Mohammadi was arrested again in Karaj. She was at a memorial for a person killed by security forces during protests. Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights said her arrest was unfair.
In January 2023, she shared a report from prison. It described the conditions for women in Evin Prison. She listed 58 prisoners and how they were questioned. Many of these women had spent a lot of time in solitary confinement.
In May 2024, Narges Mohammadi announced that she was facing new charges from the Iranian government.
According to the BBC, she was released from jail for three weeks in December 2024 for medical treatment. In January 2025, she announced that she had finished writing her autobiography.
Awards and Recognition
Narges Mohammadi has received many important awards for her brave work:
- 2009: Alexander Langer Award, named after a peace activist.
- 2011: Per Anger Prize, a human rights award from the Swedish government.
- 2016: Human Rights Award of the City of Weimar.
- 2018: Andrei Sakharov Prize from the American Physical Society.
- 2022: Recognized as one of BBC's 100 inspiring and influential women.
- 2023: Olof Palme Prize from the Swedish Olof Palme Foundation. She shared this award with Marta Chumalo and Eren Keskin.
- 2023: PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award from PEN America.
- 2023: UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. She shared this with Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi.
- 2023: Nobel Peace Prize "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all."
- Her teenage children, Ali and Kiana Rahmani, read her Nobel Prize speech at the ceremony in Oslo. The speech was secretly brought out of Evin prison.
In 2010, when Nobel Peace winner Shirin Ebadi won the Felix Ermacora Human Rights Award, she dedicated it to Narges Mohammadi. Ebadi said, "This courageous woman deserves this award more than I do."
Works
- White Torture: Interviews with Iranian Women Prisoners. OneWorld Publications, 2022. ISBN: 9780861545506
