In An A-Ward ...

Jelveh Javaheri was sentenced to 6 months in prison for her participation in a peaceful protest on June 12, 2008. She is one of what organizers hope will be a million women, working hard for equal rights for Women in Iran. This is not her first prison sentence. She recently spent one month in prison - including 16 days in solitary confinement - because she participated in a demonstration marking International Worker's Day on May 1.

Leila Alikarami, an Iranian woman, is in London receiving the Anna Politkovskaya Award on behalf of the Million Signature Campaign. Alikarami bears witness to the fact that women have been tortured while held in detention because of their participation in the Campaign. Azar Nafisi was on hand for the ceremonies. An interesting note - Alikarami will not accept the money that accompanies this award. That would lay the Million Signature Campaign open to the criticism that they are being funded by western interests and do not reflect the opinions of the Women of Iran.

And - President Barack Obama is the 2009 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. A surprise to us all! His award is given because of his words - because his words have paved the way for conversation and negotiation. He has described a vision of a "nuclear-free world"; he has attempted to open dialogue with the Muslim world and to re-start talks between Israelis and Palestinians; and - he is "re-thinking the strategy" in Afghanistan.

Maybe the operative word in that last phrase is "-thinking". President Obama's predecessor left many of us wondering: "What is he thinking!" And there were times it seemed as if he wasn't thinking at all. Now we have a president who carefully crafts his sentences, who articulates his thoughts ... well, thoughtfully.

I see a connection between these two awards - the one given to the Women of Iran and the one given to the President of the United States. They both have received awards because of words. Both are "signing on the bottom line", as it were; and we are reminded by both recipients that words matter. Azar Nafisi said the Women in Iran are a collective "weapon of mass destruction". Their names on a piece of paper are a direct threat to an oppressive regime. Their names written on the line are an indication that they are willing to go to prison, if that's what it takes, to move the ball of freedom, justice and equal rights up the field.

Barack Obama has put a lot on the line. His political future is vulnerable now to the fulfillment of dreams. And, for the US President and the Women of Iran, everything is riding on what they have said. While incredibly powerful, these words of theirs are also fragile - the fragility lies in the fact that they cannot themselves make the dream come true. Unless their words inspire us to action, not only will their dreams fade, but their very lives - politically and physically - are threatened.

We can only hope that people on the planet realize the price everyone pays if these dreams don't come to fruition. It's not only Obama and the Women of Iran who will suffer. We all will.