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. Naike Gruppioni, Member of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Italian Parliament, attended this conference and delivered a speech. The full text is provided below:
Naike Gruppioni: Ashraf 3: A Symbol of a Democratic Alternative Based on Gender Equality and the Rule of Law
Dear President Rajavi, dear friends.
It is always an emotion to be among you, and I sincerely thank President Rajavi for the invitation. I would like to begin my remarks by quoting her words: “Women are the force of change.” The first time I heard those words, I felt them as a call to responsibility.
In Iran, being a woman means enduring discrimination deeply rooted in institutions. It means having fewer rights under the law. It means that one’s body, one’s voice, and one’s freedom become objects of state control. The regime has turned domination over women into a tool to consolidate its power, and that is why when women rise up, the entire structure of the system begins to crack. Today, it is women themselves who are demonstrating that this power is not untouchable.
The young women in the streets, the mothers who demand justice, the women who have rejected the forced veil have not acted out of empty defiance. They have done so to win freedom. They have done so to have a country, to live in a normal country where one is not arrested for a thought, punished for a choice, where dignity is an inalienable right and not a concession.
Madam Rajavi, you have always maintained that female leadership is a strategic necessity, and today we fully grasp the profound meaning of what you have said. It is not enough to change a government; we must transform the very essence of how power is exercised.
Friends, power based on domination generates oppression; power rooted in equality generates democracy.
I had the privilege of visiting Ashraf 3, an experience that deeply marked me. There I understood that resistance is not theoretical abstraction but concrete organization, strict discipline, and far-sighted vision. It is embodied in women and men who have devoted their lives to the freedom of their homeland. I met survivors of prisons, persecution, and exile, yet I did not see discouragement. I saw clarity, competence, and a strong sense of duty.
Ashraf 3 is tangible proof of a democratic alternative founded on gender equality and respect for the rule of law. It is not merely testimony to a struggle, but the cornerstone of a possible future.
Iranian women do not claim privileges, but equality. They do not beg for protection, but demand rights. They ask to shape their own destiny freely. We cannot look the other way, because denying freedom means denying it to the whole society.
Allow me, before concluding, to extend a warm greeting to all the friends in Ashraf who welcomed me like a sister. Thank you for your energy. Your courage inspires. We stand by you. I stand by you. Italian women stand by you. Italy stands by you. You will win, and we will win together.
Finally, I would like to express a thought filled with admiration for President Rajavi, because she is resistance embodied. The leader who does not bend. Our example. The indomitable beacon in the struggle for Iranian freedom. In her face shines the true force of change. The new Iran. The Iran we deserve.
I wish a happy Women’s Day to the brave and the free.
