Photo Credit: Reuters

Imprisoned Iranian human rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi has been awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her “fight against the oppression of women in Iran.”

The 51-year-old vice president of the banned Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran received the honor in recognition of her decades-long struggle for gender equality and human rights. Mohammadi has been jailed almost continuously by Iranian authorities over the past 13 years for her activism.

Reacting to the news from prison, Mohammadi vowed to continue her push for “democracy, freedom and equality” in defiance of Iran’s regime. The prize comes amid turmoil in Iran sparked by protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini last September.

Nobel Committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen announced Mohammadi as this year’s laureate in Oslo on Friday, praising her courageous opposition to “systematic discrimination and oppression” at “great personal cost.”

Mohammadi has faced several convictions on charges of “acting against national security” and “propaganda” for her work. She is currently serving another prison sentence for attending a memorial for victims of the 2019 protests.

Mohammadi’s award spotlights the plight of Iranian women fighting for equality and reform.

The jailed activist’s husband Taghi Rahmani, based in France, said the Nobel Prize would “embolden Narges’ fight for human rights.” Iran has not yet officially commented on the award.