For decades now, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has been fighting for women’s rights, and in 2006, she established the Nobel Women’s Initiative with five other women laureates — Jody Williams, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire.
Ebadi was recently in New Delhi, along with Jody Williams, to speak at a session titled “How Women are Mobilizing to End Violence Against Women & Transform our World”, organised by Breakthrough, a global human rights organisation working to end violence against women.
Excerpts from an interview:
Tell us a little about how Nobel Women’s Initiative began?
In 2004 I met Jody Williams in Kenya. It was in that year that Wangari Maathai had won the Nobel Peace prize. So the three of us, three women laureates, we were all there in Kenya, and it was then that I suggested to Jody that it was a good idea to get together and work on women’s rights. Fortunately, Jody and Wangari accepted, and they talked to other women, and from 2006, officially, the Nobel Women International came into existence. Our purpose is to help the situation of women, and also bring peace and justice into the world. And this is why we concentrated on violence against women. We believe that violence against women exists all over the world but in different forms.
What do you think is the problem with how violence against women is currently viewed?
I see the man who rapes a woman as a sick person, a sexually sick person. I don’t look at that person as a criminal. What I mean is that the present punishment is not enough for such a sick person. These people should be hospitalised to the extent that they are treated. Most unfortunately, many people are sick and they don’t know about it themselves. This is where education becomes very important. Because it will help these sick people to become aware of their problem.
In the Indian context, what do you think is the first step towards addressing this issue?
Of course, there are ways. The local NGOs have to be supported. And also, the government has to be pressured so that education becomes mandatory, free education becomes mandatory for all women.
And in today’s session, as well as in general, who are the people you work with and speak to, in order to make a difference?
Our audience is all women, and most importantly men. So that they know that the man who commits violence is sick. And also I would like the government people to be our audience, so that we might be able to bring to their notice programmes that can help these sick people.
