Shirin Ebadi, who on Friday was awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, defies Nobel

history, as the odds for winning the coveted award are heavily stacked in stacked in favor of male US-European notables. The recipient was ‘shocked’ to learn she had been awarded the prize. The Vatican was disappointed (Reuters) that the Prize was not awarded to the Pope; although the Nobel does not officially acknowledge its short list for its prizes. he was rumored to be in the running. Czech President Vaclav Havel and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were also seen as possibilities (SF Chronicle). Former Polish prime minister Lech Walesa, 1983 peace prize winner, called the decision ‘a big mistake’ because the Pope did not win. The Pope, however, plans to send her a message of congratulations. Sant’ Egidio, a Catholic lay community whose work for peace and human rights, particularly in Africa, had made it one of the leading contenders for the prize, released an approving message.

According to ABC, the Iranian government was ‘happy’ with the award, which however the BBC reports is divisive in Iran. Ebadi is considered a thorn in the side of Iranian hardliners (CNN); the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 saw her removal as the nation’s first woman judge. She is opposed to foreign intervention in Iran, not that this will make her an appreciably thorny problem for the U.S. dysadministration hardliners with designs on the region and a remarkable disdain for world opinion.