On February 22, 2025, A major conference convened today to mark International Women’s Day 2025, centering on Iranian women’s resistance against Tehran’s clerical regime. Hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the event drew global figures, with NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi delivering a keynote that galvanized calls for change.
#WomenForce4Change, Free Iran 2025
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 22, 2025
International Conference marking the International Women’s Day#IWD2025https://t.co/aJbQtMSpcz
Mrs. Rajavi told the conference, “International Women’s Day 2025 symbolizes uprising and rebellion for a world free of repression and exploitation.” She lauded Iranian women’s defiance, stating, “Over the past 40 years, they have risen time and again to say no to the misogynistic mullahs,” citing 83 women martyrs and the 1,000 women of Ashraf 3 as “inspirations to freedom-seeking girls across Iran.”
Moderator Azadeh Zabeti, Chair of the Anglo-Iranian Lawyers Committee, framed the day as a push to “overcome and recognize the remaining obstacles to achieving true gender equality.” She spotlighted Iran’s women, “suffering under the misogynistic and barbaric regime of the Ayatollahs,” yet leading a “pivotal struggle for freedom.”
Sarvenaz Chitsaz, NCRI Women’s Committee Chair, declared, “In the struggle against the misogynist regime ruling Iran, women are the force of change.” She linked four decades of resistance to equality, noting, “The issue of women and the equality movement has been the primary issue on the road to liberate Iran from the ruling of religious fascism.”
Former French Minister Michele Alliot-Marie referred to the role of Mrs. Rajavi, saying, “You show how to do politics—it is to have a philosophy of life that brings us together toward the most beautiful word, which is peace.” She branded Iran’s regime “a threat to stability” and pressed Western governments to shift “beyond good words” to “concrete actions.”
Rosalía Arteaga Serrano, ex-President of Ecuador, called Iranian women “a power of nature,” backing Mrs. Rajavi’s 10-point plan for democracy. “We say no to execution, no to exclusion,” she affirmed. Ex-Finnish PM Anneli Jäätteenmäki detailed abuses, stating, “Iranian women face discrimination in education, jobs, legal rights, and politics,” with 34 executed in 2024.
Colombian ex-Senator Íngrid Betancourt proclaimed, “Love will free Iran,” commending Mrs. Rajavi: “You gave the opportunity to the women of your organization to prepare themselves for leadership,” redefining power beyond “male-dominated dynamics.”
Linda Chavez, former U.S. official, predicted, “Next year, it will be Khamenei and the mullahs who flee Tehran.” She rejected monarchist nostalgia, noting a Swiss event for Reza Pahlavi drew only 200, adding, “The people of Iran want to choose their own leader.”
Dominique Attias, of the European Lawyers Foundation, honored prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared, jailed since 2009, saying, “You are the symbol of the immeasurable courage of all Iranian women.” She noted Monfared’s sentence, extended by three years in 2024 for “propaganda against the system.”
Candice Bergen, ex-leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, unveiled a statement from over 650 women leaders across 80 countries, condemning Iran’s repressive laws. “Women in Iran have been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy,” she said, saluting Ashraf 3’s women as “symbols of freedom-seeking.”
Mrs. Rajavi closed with a rallying cry, citing the regime’s nuclear breaches—uranium stocks “30 times higher” than allowed, per the IAEA—and urging support. “The mullahs’ overthrow is certain,” she vowed, as attendees echoed “Woman, Resistance, Freedom.”