Iranian Nobel Prize winner (2003) Iraanse Shirin Ebadi says it is too early to speak of an Arab Spring.

On a two-day visit to Amsterdam the human rights activist said, “The Arab Spring will only begin once Islamic women are no longer discriminated against. It is not enough to overthrow a dictatorial regime; democracy has to take its place in which the people can determine their own future.” The only way to achieve true democracy in countries like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, according to Ms Ebadi, is by separating state and religion. She was invited to Amsterdam by various organisations to speak on the Arab Spring with a focus on women.

Ms Ebadi fears that women and children will pay the price for the revolutions in Arab countries. “Libya’s National Transition Council (NTC) said in its first declaration that it wanted to reintroduce polygamy,” the Iranian activist pointed out. “And the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt wants to get rid of Western laws, because it thinks Islamic law is better suited to local practice.”

Ms Ebadi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Iran in particular for women, children, minorities and refugees. The Iranian authorities have confiscated her prize along with other possessions. She is the first Muslim woman and first Iranian to have received the Nobel Prize. 

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