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.
At this conference, Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, former Vice President of Costa Rica (2014-2018), was also in attendance and delivered a speech. The full text of her speech is provided below:
Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría: Woman, Resistance, Freedom. This is more than a slogan. This is courageous. This is resistance.
Hello, dear friends. I’m so glad to be here. Last night I was sleeping in my bed in a little town in Costa Rica and today I can embrace you. I can embrace you all, women defenders of human rights. I can embrace you, Madame Rajavi. I think that on this International Women’s Day, now that we are gathered in this wonderful city of Paris, we stand in solidarity with the brave women of Iran who are fighting for their dignity and for their country’s freedom under the powerful slogan: Woman, Resistance, Freedom. This is more than a slogan. This is courageous. This is resistance and they are really here to tell us and to call us to ensure that beyond their borders, they have a voice. We have been hearing you and we will support you because we support democracy. And I speak not only as a former Vice President or former parliamentarian or ambassador, I speak for my country, which is the oldest democratic country in Latin America and one of the strongest. So, we built a nation, and a nation with a historic importance where we really did the abolition of the army in 1948. I have always believed that security must be rooted in human rights, not in repression.
Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría: It is vital to understand that the cruelty of the regime in Tehran is not contained within its borders.
The struggle of the Iranian women is not a distant or isolated issue. It is a universal demand for the right to live without fear, to speak without persecution and to shape one’s own destiny. It is vital to understand that the cruelty of the regime in Tehran is not contained within its borders. The same violence used to silence the women in the street is exported globally through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their actions do not stop at repression; they extend to destabilization and I have been talking about that under this same roof many times.
In Latin America, we have seen the malign influence of the IRGC and this is not simply to export ideology, it exports instability and also collaborates with criminal networks and exports institutional weakness and it seeks to blackmail sovereign governments and to erode the democratic fabric of our region. Whether it is the suppression of youth in Iran or the fueling of organized crime in the Americas, it remains the central engine of global fundamentalism and terror.
That is why I’m proud to have led the efforts in the Costa Rican parliament to expose these abuses. For several years, we worked tirelessly to secure parliamentary majorities to condemn the regime and the violations, both at home and abroad. Our stance was not just symbolic; it translated into concrete diplomatic actions in the United Nations in New York and in Geneva, where Costa Rican permanent missions have supported the resolutions defending human rights and standing firmly with pro-democracy movements and also with you, Madame.
Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría: Today, more than 4,000 parliamentarians worldwide support the 10-point plan proposed by Maryam Rajavi for a free Iran
I also welcome the European Union’s recent decision to blacklist this terrorist organization. This is a crucial step toward stripping the regime of its capacity to finance repression and also to export violence. International law must not be timid when facing tyranny. Today, more than 4,000 parliamentarians worldwide support the 10-point plan proposed by Maryam Rajavi for a free Iran. A roadmap for a secular, democratic and non-nuclear—I repeat it, non-nuclear—republic where women lead and where this will be the path.
You are the future, you are the present and you are the hope, all of you. We must be the voice of those who have been silenced. We have been seeing their faces. We salute the resistance units inside Iran who risk everything to break the chains of the dictatorship. We are not afraid and we can make this pledge: our advocacy will continue online, in parliament and in the streets until the women and men of Iran can breathe the air of freedom. On International Women’s Day today, let us affirm that their struggle is our struggle and they won’t be alone and we won’t look away. Thank you.
