On Saturday, February 21, 2026, on the eve of March 8, International Women’s Day, the NCRI Women’s Committee hosted an international conference in Paris entitled “Women’s Leadership: An Imperative for a Free Iran and a Democratic Republic.” The conference, attended by women legislators, academics, thinkers, and prominent political figures, focused on women’s political participation and leadership as a decisive element in a democratic society.
Elisabetta Zamparutti a member of “Hands Off Cain association” was present in this conference and delivered a speech. The full text of her speech is provided below:
Elisabetta Zamparutti: Standing Firm Against the Replacement of One Dictatorship with Another
Dear friends, today I am moved to tears. I am moved to tears looking at you and being with you, all such prominent women. I am moved to tears because of your clear speech, dear Maryam Rajavi. But I was and I am moved to tears looking at the brave women of the Iranian Resistance in Ashraf-3.
I am moved to tears because you are still able to offer your life for freedom in a world where, at most, we can offer our liberty for life. And this is a great difference, and you are a true example. You are also an example of not giving in to the anti-democratic conformism of those who think that it is possible to replace the mullahs’ turban with the Shah’s crown.
I would also like to say that there are fake participation numbers regarding the demonstrations in support of the Shah in Munich, Toronto, and the United States, because in reality the participants are ten times fewer, as a German newspaper discovered a few days ago in an article they published.
It is as if the Iranian people are pawns in a game of snakes and ladders, without the right to look to the future and to advance, and with only the duty to go back, to return to the past. In that respect, I want to say that Pahlavi represents the darkness of the past, for what Carla Sands quoted in the interview, and also for what he said in a recent press conference held in June 2025 in Paris, when he said that he is in direct contact with the Revolutionary Guard, and that he considers them brave men.
In that respect, I also want to say that they are now producing fake videos to show that in Iran there is, if I may add, fake support for the Shah. They use these fake videos in our countries as well, and we have to pay attention to this. I also know that during the recent demonstrations in Iran, there are groups of Basij who are creating division among the people, shouting in favor of the Shah and using this to create confusion among those who are saying, “Down with Khamenei.”
This is something we should consider in a world where it seems that only violent relations are seen as power. On the contrary, I believe that power belongs to the human strength of relationships, such as the relationships we have here. And this is the most powerful weapon against the regime and for the freedom of Iran, of the Iranian people, and also of our own freedom.
I believe that we, as women, have this added strength regarding women’s rights, the rights we call for and the method we support for the affirmation of these rights. And the method is your method, Maryam Rajavi, the Ten-Point Plan for a Free Iran and for a democratic Iran.
Elisabetta Zamparutti: Standing with the Truth at a Defining Moment in History
We should always try to understand exactly where the truth lies and where the falsehood lies in this historical moment. I am strongly impressed by the inmates who, in 56 prisons in Iran, every Tuesday carry out a hunger strike to say, “Stop the death penalty,” “Stop the repression,” “Stop the oppression.”
We should stand with them. Every Tuesday, I take part in this hunger strike because I want to feel solidarity with them. And after this wonderful meeting, full of energy, full of positive and warm speeches, words, and statements, I would like to ask myself first, and all of you as well, to go back and try to do our best to obtain from our governments the possibility of meeting with Maryam Rajavi as a political interlocutor.
This is the main way to change the regime and to finally have a free Iran and a stable Middle East, because Iran is not an element of stability; it is the element of instability in the entire Middle East and, I may say, in the world.
