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Nobel laureates discuss women's rights abroad
by Claire Moses
News | 4/15/08
Posted online at 4:37 AM EST on 4/15/08
What would Louis Brandeis think of Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams, two Nobel laureates, speaking on gender and human rights, University President Jehuda Reinharz asked at the Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture in the Hassenfeld Conference Center last Monday night.
"He would have been proud," Reinharz concluded, emphasizing the University's commitment to seeking the truth and social justice in his introduction of the two female Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Markowicz, who died when she was a student at Brandeis, was committed to social justice and activism, her sister Sylvia Neil said in an introduction to the laureates.
Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, and Williams, a professor and full-time activist who won the same prize in 1997, addressed gender issues.
"I want women's issues to be approached as human issues," Williams said. "Women need enforceable legal rights," she continued.
Williams became the 10th woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, and since then only two more have won the prize, including Ebadi.
In 2006, Ebadi, Williams and four other female laureates founded the Nobel Women's Initiative, an organization that fights for peace, justice and equality, according to its Web site.
Williams is known for her International Campaign to Ban Land mines. "On the land mine campaign, it didn't matter that I'm a woman. We were all campaigners," she said.
Williams said that she used to be so agitated about women's rights issues that she could only express anger, which alienated her from other people. Now, she said, "I'm mature enough to deal with women's rights."
"The government of Iran violates human rights constantly," Ebadi said, speaking through a translator.
Ebadi proceeded to talk about the situation of women in Iran and the Middle East in general.
"The role of women in bringing peace to the Middle East is undeniable," she said.
"He would have been proud," Reinharz concluded, emphasizing the University's commitment to seeking the truth and social justice in his introduction of the two female Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Markowicz, who died when she was a student at Brandeis, was committed to social justice and activism, her sister Sylvia Neil said in an introduction to the laureates.
Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, and Williams, a professor and full-time activist who won the same prize in 1997, addressed gender issues.
"I want women's issues to be approached as human issues," Williams said. "Women need enforceable legal rights," she continued.
Williams became the 10th woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, and since then only two more have won the prize, including Ebadi.
In 2006, Ebadi, Williams and four other female laureates founded the Nobel Women's Initiative, an organization that fights for peace, justice and equality, according to its Web site.
Williams is known for her International Campaign to Ban Land mines. "On the land mine campaign, it didn't matter that I'm a woman. We were all campaigners," she said.
Williams said that she used to be so agitated about women's rights issues that she could only express anger, which alienated her from other people. Now, she said, "I'm mature enough to deal with women's rights."
"The government of Iran violates human rights constantly," Ebadi said, speaking through a translator.
Ebadi proceeded to talk about the situation of women in Iran and the Middle East in general.
"The role of women in bringing peace to the Middle East is undeniable," she said.
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