In 1971, she obtained a doctorate in private law with honors from the University of Tehran. While her career was thriving, her life as an intellectual woman kept many men away from her. Men who used to live in a patriarchal culture were afraid that women would have higher education and careers than them. On the other hand, Ebadi did not want to fall into a patriarchal culture that required women to obey men.
Finally, in 1975, Ebadi met an electrical engineer named Javad Tavassolian. Her husband comes from a socially conservative background but is very flexible and tolerant. From the beginning of her marriage, her husband allowed Ebadi to remain an independent woman and continued to support her career as a judge (Ebadi, 2007, p. 24).
