Shirin Ebadi.(Interview)

Until last week, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, 56, was a little-known figure outside her homeland. But inside Iran, Ebadi has made a name for herself as a tireless defender of the weak, and a symbol of peaceful resistance. A judge until the 1979 revolution barred women from the bench, she has represented a number of high-profile dissidents, devoting her life to the simple idea that Islam and human rights are not incompatible. Eventually, however, Ebadi's work landed her on the other side of the law as well. In 2000 the former judge was arrested and accused of distributing a taped confession of a vigilante militiaman involved in violence against reformists. The court sentenced her to 15 months in prison and banned her from practicing law for five years. Her sentence was eventually suspended.

Last week the crusading lawyer became world famous, and even Iranian government leaders were forced to issue tepid public congratulations. Ebadi was on her way to the Paris airport to catch a plane back to Tehran when she heard on the radio she'd won the Nobel Peace Prize. Ebadi, who'd been in France for a speaking engagement, was as shocked as anyone. The next morning she sat down with NEWSWEEK's Marie Valla to talk about the situation in Iran and how the prize might help to change it. Excerpts:

VALLA: Is this a watershed for democracy in Iran?

EBADI: I hope it is. I always acted with-in the law; I never did anything that was illegal. I support peaceful protests. But when things go wrong I'm there to defend the victims, for free. In 1999, when the student dormitories were attacked, I defended one victim's family in court and this is what led me to be jailed. So I hope that this prize will give supporters of human rights in Iran the courage and the energy to continue. As a matter of fact, the biggest benefit of this prize is to show that it still is possible to stay in Iran and work for the advancement of human rights there.

Do you think that the regime in Iran can reform itself or is it stuck in a hopeless deadlock between the reformers and the old guard?

I believe that it still is possible to bring reform to the regime, but it is now high time for action as well as pragmatic thinking. Even in Iran, where there hasn't been any significant reform, the number of people who ...