Shirin Ebadi, Doctor of Laws
“Woman of steel,” “conscience of the Islamic Republic,” “icon for defenders of the weakest in society” — this and more you have been called for your work defending the rights of women, children, workers, artists, and the oppressed in your country of Iran. Ousted from your judgeship after the revolution, you have served as lead attorney in cases of governmental violence and repression and you have exposed links between vigilante groups and high government officials. Despite imprisonment for your advocacy your voice remains loud in its prophetic call for justice — loud enough to make you the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. That voice likewise is woven through your writing and your teaching at Tehran University and in your work with the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, both of which you helped found. All countries, not just your own, must take to heart your belief that human rights represent the prerequisites of justice, freedom, and peace. And, as a proud Iranian and equally proud Muslim, you are living proof that one of the strongest forms of patriotism, as of devotion, is principled, constructive, non-violent dissent.
I hereby declare you recipient of the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, entitled to all the rights, honors, and privileges appertaining thereto.
June 6, 2004
Morton Owen Schapiro
President of the College