Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Laureate in Peace disclosed that “it is not easy to be a woman in Iran,” because some laws “make it tough for women to be active.” The civil rights advocate contends that the revolution made her “a fighter” like a “cacti in the desert” who stayed “strong to survive.” Claiming that Islam is compatible with democracy, she asserts that the religion is misused by “male-dominated Muslim states” which justify gender inequality “when in fact this practice has its roots in patriarchal cultures prevailing in these societies.” In her legal practice, she defends the rights of women, children, political prisoners and dissidents, although she spent twenty-five days in solitary confinement for having presented a witness in a political murder case. “Our lady of peace,” chanted thousands of enthusiastic supporters at Tehran's airport as she returned home with her trophy. “This is not my award, it belongs to the people of Iran,”she declared, with tears in her eyes. “This prize means freedom, development of peace and democracy.” Today's Iranian women are “steel magnolias, not shrinking violets.” They work, participate in politics, articulate their demands, and significantly, they seek entitlement to their rights, as women, and as equal members of the state and society. Rich or poor, secular or religious, young or old, women in the Islamic state find ways around or resist obstacles.

Women in the Islamic Republic are not passive. They are active and engage in the politics of resistance.