logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2022
9m 35s

Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In 2003, human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi became the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Six years later, she was forced into exile from Iran. Dr Ebadi has been talking to Louise Hidalgo about the award, her work and the personal price she's had to pay for it.

Picture: Dr Shirin Ebadi arriving back at Tehran airport after hearing that she'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, October 2003 (credit: Mohamad Eslami Rad/Getty Images)

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Today
Making Turkish Star Wars
When the set fell apart for an ambitious cinematic space opera that was produced on a characteristically small Turkish budget, nationally famed director Çetin İnanç had to think fast to save his film. What resulted was a domestic hit in 1982, originally called The Man Who Saves t ... Show More
10m 20s
Apr 2026
The world's first perfume archive
On 26 April 1990, the world's first perfume archive opened in Versailles, France.The idea behind L'Osmothèque was to create a collection of scents and preserve their memory.Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena was one of the team who created it.He speaks to Jen Dale about how L'Osmothèque ... Show More
10m 6s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi
First: Jailed Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi is still fighting for women's rights in Iran at great cost to herself and her family. Christiane speaks with her daughter, Kiana  Plus: Origin is a movie like no other. Director Ava Duvernay takes a deep, inpiring dive into the origin ... Show More
58m 58s
Dec 2024
Jailed Women's Rights Activist Speaks Out on Furlough from Iran's Evin Prison
Christiane's world exclusive with Iran's notorious women's rights activist, Narges Mohammadi, who last year was awarded the Nobel peace prize, and who has spent much of the past 20 years in Evin prison. She is accused of “spreading propaganda" and acting against the country's nat ... Show More
40m 36s
Jan 2023
324. The Protest in Iran and What It Means | Masih Alinejad
Dr Jordan B Peterson and Masih Alinejad discuss the current situation in Iran, the growing unrest as revolution beckons, and the need for support from the world stage. Alinejad recounts her personal experiences growing up in Iran, being exiled, and multiple kidnapping attempts or ... Show More
1h 35m
Jun 2023
Shiva Mahbobi
“Change is equal to hope”. Shiva Mahbobi has never lost hope for change in Iran. At the age of 12, living in Iran, Shiva was arrested for campaigning for women’s rights. At just 16 she was imprisoned and tortured for over 3 years. Over 25 years later, in 2022, huge protests were ... Show More
45m 24s
Feb 2023
Shirin: Heroine of Iran
<p>Princess, Queen, and political influencer - Shirin should be a name as famed as Cleopatra, but how come so few know of her? Coming to influence in Iran during the early 7th Century, Shirin was the Christian wife of the Sasanian King Khosrow II, and was forced to flee to Syria ... Show More
48m 48s
Oct 2025
Interview | Nilo Tabrizy on the Cost of Telling Iran’s Story
In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, journalist Nilo Tabrizy joins Leyla Shams to talk about her groundbreaking book For the Sun After Long Nights — The Story of Iran’s Women-Led Uprising, recently long-listed for the National Book Award. Nilo reflects on what it means to love a ... Show More
1h 6m
Apr 2023
Artist in Exile
Shirin Neshat is seen as a powerful voice for Iranian women...but her art has never been shown in Iran. She speaks on life in exile and how her acclaimed and controversial art is shaped by politics. You can watch a version of this interview on YouTube here. TED Radio Hour+ subscr ... Show More
50m 30s
Apr 2022
Nadia Murad and Amal Clooney
In 2014, this week’s ‘At Your Service’ guest, Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, was a young woman of 21, when at the height of the ISIS caliphate in Northern Iraq, ISIS surrounded her Yazidi community in the Sinjar region. Her brothers and mother were killed in a mass slaught ... Show More
58 m