As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer, and activist, Shirin Ebadi has spoken out in her country, Iran, as well as throughout the world. "Shirin Ebadi" is the story of an exceptional figure who has dedicated her life to fighting for basic human rights, especially those of women and children, within Iran and abroad. With this book, students will become familiar with the woman whose efforts to promote democracy and human rights in the Middle East led to her being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.

When a military junta took power in Myanmar (then called Burma) in 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi - the daughter of General Aung San, who negotiated Burma's independence from Britain in 1947 - entered Burmese politics to work for democratization. Heavily influenced by Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent protest, Suu Kyi helped found the National League for Democracy. When the military junta held general elections in 1990, the National League won easily, and Suu Kyi should have assumed the position of prime minister. Instead, the military nullified the election, and she was placed under house arrest...