Iran: Shadi Sadr's Speech for the 2010 International Women of Courage Award Ceremony

Your Excellency Mrs. Clinton, Respected Members of the Jury, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honored to be selected as one of the ten recipients of the International Women of Courage Award, which I consider as yet another opportunity for me, and other human rights activists, to bring to the international communitys attention the efforts of Iranian women on a global level. This award also enables me to publicize the systematic human rights abuses in Iran, particularly the crackdown on civil society activists in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential elections.

This Award, as is evident by its title, is given every year to women all across the globe that have illustrated exceptional courage in defense of womens rights, social justice and human rights. For this exact reason I would like to dedicate my award to Shiva Nazar Ahari, a young activist that is currently imprisoned in Iran for her womens rights and human rights activism. I dedicate this award to her since I believe her courage has been exceptional and deserving of worldwide recognition.

Shiva, who since her youth has been an influential activist, founded the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, a university student group that provides important and objective reports concerning human rights abuses in Iran. She has also been actively involved in the womens rights movement, never for a moment ceasing her efforts on behalf of human rights and democracy.

Unfortunately, shortly after the elections, Shiva was arrested and kept for months in solitary confinement and subjected to extreme interrogations. After spending more than 100 days in prison, Shiva was released on a $200,000 bail for only three, brief months. Shiva, who had re-started her activism immediately upon her release from prison, was arrested once more in December 2009 along with other members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. Since her arrest, the authorities have placed her under extreme pressure in order to make her confess to the crime of acting as an enemy of God, which carries the death penalty under state law. They kept her for a long period in a cage-like cell so small that she could barely move her limbs. Despite such extreme torture, Shiva has not, even today, accepted that her peaceful activism in promotion of Womens rights and democracy are acts of terrorism, and consequently has faced even more abusive treatments.

Shiva, one of the worlds most courageous women, who herself worked tirelessly in defense of the rights of political prisoners, is herself in a small prison cell, and deprived of having even a pen and paper or meeting with a lawyer, and is kept blind-folded.

To be honest, since the Iranian regime declares that all human rights activists and civil activists are spies and puppets for the West, particularly the United States, I initially worried that to dedicate this award to Shiva alone might increase the pressure and hostility of her interrogators and the judicial forces and make matters worse for her.

However, I eventually arrived at the conclusion that the Iranian government will still accuse all activists of being spies, similar to the way they accused me of selling myself to America for receiving this award (calling me a servant of the United States), so that it really makes little difference. As Shiva is not with us and cannot attend this award ceremony, I will also refrain from attending with the hope that my absence will turn the attention of the international community to her dire situation. I would like to request that you all take any measures available to you to help to free Shiva along with other human rights activists and journalists in Iranian prisons.

Thank you.

Shadi Sadr
10 March 2010

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• U.S. State Department
• Hillary Clinton
• Shadi Sadr
• Shiva Nazar Ahari
• Iran
• Women's rights
• Human rights
• Evin prison
• mass arrests
• torture

[kasra100b]

long live iranian heroic women who challenge brutal islamic regime relentlessly on daily basis for achieving their rightful human rights to live like a free human not like a muslim backward woman in almost all islamic countries. and i as a man am very proud of my brave fellow country-women

down with islam and islamic regime of iran

long live democracy and freedom of speech

an iranian

[iwardenier]

Shadi is a brave great woman

[MrrrMagoo]

@kasra100b: AMEN! :-)

[0xXMahsaXx0]

Seeing on both sides of the story I honestly think both islamic people and the people who want freedom have the right but maybe instead of insulting our own people we should get to gather and come up with an agreement and that goes to all us iranians .fighting with eachother just makes our country look week but friendship and respect , will defenently power and strength our beautiful country Iran

[0xXMahsaXx0]

Hey seeing on both sides of this hole story I'm Iran I honestly think that the Islamic people and the people who want freedom both have their own rights maybe instead of insulting eachother we should come up with ideas not fight ,fighting will just make our country look week

[111256able]

Go fight for animal right!! the right of the dog that was reluctant to screw YOU!!heheheheehh FUCK YOU!!

[111256able]

@br007306 hahafuckyourdog!

[111256able]

@br007306 Youre just redundent kaput .Nothing to do about nothing!Keep on dreaming!!!!! YOU WILL NEVER SUCCEED. YOURE BORN A LOSER AND DIE A LOSER!!

[111256able]

@br007306 You are ONLY commenting!!While the muslims are governing<as such you are the one believing in fairy tales........we are in reality......demonise all you can we are still in POWER!!

[br007306]

@111256able

Ooooooooo. Wasn't THAT such a clever comeback.

You're so stupid, and so predictable!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!