"Shirin who?" was one of many such reactions heard on Friday, a weekend here, when the prize was announced in Oslo and was afforded just a few seconds' mention on conservative-controlled state media.

On Saturday, however, the news was sinking in for those Iranians who have access to the reformist press or Internet news sites.

"I just found out who she was today," said a middle-aged housewife as she shopped for books at a busy street in the capital. "It is a proud moment for Iranian women, and it shows how far Iranian women have advanced."

A 27-year-old physician, Shahrzad Shahrouzi, said she thought the message that the prestigious prize carries would not be lost on the Islamic republic, or at least those in the country who get to hear about it.

"I see it as some sort of international objection to the situation of human rights and freedom of expression in Iran," she said as she strolled in a central Tehran park.

"But unfortunately, due to censorship, she is not going to get the recognition she deserves. She may have won the prize, but in Iran she'll still have to fight inch by inch."

Ebadi, a petite and softly-spoken women, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for her efforts for democracy and human rights," particularly on behalf of women and children.

Prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution, she made headlines when she became the country's first female judge. But she was stripped of her post when the new ruling clerics decided that women were by nature unsuitable for such responsibilities.

Now at 56, Ebadi has emerged as one of Iran's most prominent pro-reform activists, spearheading a drive to reform a legal system that views women as being worth half a man. She has also defended dissidents that few other lawyers would dare to touch.

But her campaign has mostly been a grinding affair that has seldom hit the headlines. Before her prize win, she was only really well-known in Iranian reformist circles and among international human rights groups.

Many Iranians questioned about the impact of the win on Iran's human rights situation said the next step forward was in Ebadi's own hands.

Although the Nobel laureate has vowed to press on with her tireless campaigning, it remains to be seen if she can, or will be allowed to, assume the same profile at home that she now has abroad.

"It's up to her to harness the potential of winning this prize, and she still has a long way to go," said a 20-year-old male student walking on a Tehran campus who also admitted that he had "only heard of her today."

Amir-Ahmad Zaraii, out for a spot of shopping early Saturday, had also just learned of Iran's most famous woman, and shed some light on why the Nobel Committee decided to thrust her cause into the limelight.

"What is remarkable is that she achieved all of this even though she didn't have any help from the the public or the government," said the bearded 41-year-old. "She should be a role model for all Iranian intellectuals."

WAR.WIRE