I was born in the city of Hamedan [northwestern Iran] in 1947. My family were
academics and practising Muslims. At the time of my birth my father was the head
of Hamedan's Registry Office. My father, Mohammad Ali Ebadi, one of the first
lecturers in commercial law, had written several books. He passed away in 1993.
I spent my childhood in a family filled with kindness and affection. I have two sisters and a brother all of whom are highly educated. My mother dedicated all her time and devotion to our upbringing.
I came to Tehran with my family when I was a one year old and have since been
a resident in the capital. I began my education at Firuzkuhi primary school and
went on to Anoshiravn Dadgar and Reza Shah Kabir secondary schools for my higher
education. I sat the Tehran University entrance exams and gained a place at the
Faculty of Law in 1965. I received my law degree in three-and-a-half years, and
immediately sat the entrance exams for the Department of Justice. After a six-month
apprenticeship in adjudication, I began to serve officially as a judge in March
1969. While serving as a judge, I continued my education and obtained a doctorate
with honours in private law from Tehran University in 1971.
I held a variety of positions in the Justice Department. In 1975, I became the
President of Bench 24 of the [Tehran] City Court. I am the first woman in the
history of Iranian justice to have served as a judge. Following the victory of
the Islamic Revolution in February 1979, since the belief was that Islam forbids
women to serve as judges, I and other female judges were dismissed from our posts
and given clerical duties. They made me a clerk in the very court I once presided
over. We all protested. As a result, they promoted all former female judges, including
myself, to the position of "experts" in the Justice Department. I could not tolerate
the situation any longer, and so put in a request for early retirement. My request
was accepted. Since the Bar Association had remained closed for some time since
the revolution and was being managed by the Judiciary, my application for practising
law was turned down. I was, in effect, housebound for many years. Finally, in
1992 I succeeded in obtaining a lawyer's licence and set up my own practice.
I used my time of unemployment to write several books and had many articles published
in Iranian journals. After receiving my lawyer's licence I accepted to defend
many cases. Some were national cases. Among them, I represented the families of
the serial murders victims (the family of Dariush and Parvaneh Foruhar) and Ezzat
Ebrahiminejad, who were killed during the attack on the university dormitory.
I also participated in some press-related cases. I took on a large number of social
cases, too, including child abuse. Recently I agreed to represent the mother of
Mrs Zahra Kazemi, a photojournalist killed in Iran.
I also teach at university. Each year, a number of students from outside Iran
join my human rights training courses. 
I am married. My husband is an electrical engineer. We have two daughters. One
is 23 years old. She is studying for a doctorate in telecommunications at McGill
University in Canada. The other is 20 years old and is in her third year at Tehran
University where she reads law.
Books
* Details provided are taken from the original publications.
Articles
Prizes and Accolades
An official Human Rights Watch observer, 1996.
The selection of The Rights of the Child as Book of the Year by the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry.
Recipient of the Rafto Human Rights Foundation prize for human rights activities, Norway 2001.
The Nobel Peace Prize, Norway 2003. From Les Prix Nobel 2003.
Past Lectures
