{"id":337296,"date":"2025-09-21T18:40:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T17:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=337296"},"modified":"2025-09-21T18:40:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T17:40:34","slug":"iran-on-the-brink-of-transformation-women-resistance-and-my-personal-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/iran-on-the-brink-of-transformation-women-resistance-and-my-personal-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran on the Brink of Transformation: Women, Resistance, and My Personal Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_337299\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-337299\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-337299 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book.jpg\" alt=\"Professor Rita S\u00fcssmuth, former President of the German Bundestag, holding her new book &quot;Iran on the Brink of Transformation&quot;\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Professor-Rita-Sussmuth-book-696x391.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-337299\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Professor Rita S\u00fcssmuth, former President of the German Bundestag, holding her new book &#8220;Iran on the Brink of Transformation&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When a woman who has stood at the very peak of political leadership in Europe turns her attention to the struggle for freedom in Iran, the world should listen. Professor Rita S\u00fcssmuth, who served for a decade as President of the German Bundestag, has dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.in\/Iran-Wandel-German-Rita-S%C3%BCssmuth-ebook\/dp\/B0FCSJSLBT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">her new book<\/a> <em>Iran on the Brink of Transformation: The Social Role of Women and My Personal Experiences<\/em> to telling a story that is both profoundly personal and globally significant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Born in 1937, Rita S\u00fcssmuth is a pioneer in German politics and society. For ten years, she presided over the Bundestag\u2014the first woman to hold such a high office in the Federal Republic. Before that, she served as Minister for Youth, Family and Health. An accomplished academic in philosophy, sociology, and history, she has combined intellectual rigor with political leadership throughout her life. But as she writes in her book, nothing shaped her political and moral compass more deeply than her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/ashraf-liberty\/mitchell-reiss-we-are-all-united-in-calling-for-the-state-department-to-immediately-delist-the-mek-these-voices-are-being-heard-at-the-very-highest-levels-of-the-us-government-including-at-the-white-h\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">encounter with Iran\u2019s democratic opposition.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cHad someone told me that my life would one day be bound so closely to the Iranian Resistance, I would have doubted it. And yet this unexpected path became one of the defining journeys of my life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Rita S\u00fcssmuth Introduces New Book, Iran im Wandel, on Women\u2019s Role in Iranian Resistance<br \/>Former Bundestag President Rita S\u00fcssmuth speaks during the presentation of her new book, Iran im Wandel, (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> in Transition), published on August 13, 2025. In the book, she reflects on her\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RVii2Vthau\">pic.twitter.com\/RVii2Vthau<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Javad Dabiran (@JavadDabiran) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JavadDabiran\/status\/1956755693974769980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Moment That Changed Everything<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In one of the book\u2019s most moving passages, S\u00fcssmuth recounts the day in 2008 that altered the course of her life:\u00a0<em>\u201cI was stepping out of the car in front of my office at Unter den Linden 71 in Berlin when a young woman wearing a headscarf approached me with determined steps. In perfect German, she asked me to sign a petition against executions in Iran. I do not know why, but in that moment, I stopped. Her words were logical and well-founded, but it was her conviction, her inner strength, and her unshakable faith in a better future that touched me most deeply. I signed. She smiled, grateful for that small success, but as she walked away, questions began to form in my mind: Why did these people have to stand outside Parliament to collect signatures? Why were their voices not heard inside the halls of power?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That moment, she writes, was a turning point. From it flowed years of deeper involvement, solidarity, and eventually, friendship <a href=\"https:\/\/wncri.org\/2022\/03\/14\/dr-professor-rita-sussmuth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">with the Iranian Resistance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Former German Parliament Speaker Prof .Dr. Rita S\u00fcssmuth: I support the Sep 6 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BrusselsFreeIranRally?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BrusselsFreeIranRally<\/a> for a free Iran &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Maryam_Rajavi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Maryam_Rajavi<\/a>&#39;s Third Option \u2014 no war, no appeasement \u2014 regime change by the people &amp; their organized resistance. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zp35SjlRyz\">pic.twitter.com\/zp35SjlRyz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1963919177590137126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Women at the Center of a Democratic Revolution<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Throughout her book, S\u00fcssmuth returns to one theme with passion: the centrality of women in Iran\u2019s struggle for freedom. She describes meeting three generations of women\u2014students, mothers, leaders\u2014each with a different story but united in one goal: freedom for Iran.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cWith these women I saw something extraordinary: their vision of freedom was inseparable from women\u2019s freedom. In their stories of prison, torture, and exile, I saw not despair but extraordinary courage. Their resistance was not only political\u2014it was a profound inner revolution.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">She writes with admiration of the five women <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/K2gmy2Z1LZY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">she met in Ashraf-3<\/a>, the MEK\u2019s community in Albania, who had survived years of imprisonment and emerged as symbols of endurance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cTheir voices must be heard. Their stories are not just personal accounts; they are inscribed into the very history of Iran\u2019s struggle for freedom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Professor Dr. Rita S\u00fcssmuth, Former President of the German Bundestag, on receiving the 2025 German-Polish Special Award.<br \/>For people around the world, she is a symbol of unwavering commitment to the universal values of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HumanRights?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#HumanRights<\/a> and\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1ujYFRrSw9\">pic.twitter.com\/1ujYFRrSw9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Maryam_Rajavi\/status\/1891433075231383943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Encounter with Maryam Rajavi<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">No figure impressed her more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryam-rajavi.com\/en\/biography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maryam Rajavi<\/a>, the President-elect of the NCRI.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cMaryam Rajavi is far more than a symbol. She embodies a profound unity of seemingly opposing qualities: resilience and compassion, determination and vision. I have met many presidents, ministers, and political leaders in my career. Yet there are only a few\u2014like Nelson Mandela or Maryam Rajavi\u2014who transcend politics itself. They are not merely representatives of a party; they carry the deep aspirations of a nation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">S\u00fcssmuth notes that Rajavi leads not only a political movement but also a \u201crevolution within the revolution,\u201d where women play the leading role in dismantling dictatorship and building democracy.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Maryam Rajavi meets in Auvers-sur-Oise with a delegation of German politicians headed by Prof. Dr. Rita S\u00fcssmuth, fmr Speaker of the German Bundestag. Mr. Martin Patzelt, Federal MP until 2021, and Stefanie Bung, CDU Vice-Chair in the Berlin Parliament, accompanied her. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kaSnD4K61k\">pic.twitter.com\/kaSnD4K61k<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Maryam_Rajavi\/status\/1483553154985865217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Standing Beside the Resistance<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The book recounts S\u00fcssmuth\u2019s battles to support the Resistance: her role in advocating for the delisting of the MEK from unjust terrorist blacklists, her efforts to protect the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq, and her visits to Ashraf-3 in Albania. She faced political pressure and hostility at home, yet she never wavered.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cAmong all the confrontations I have faced, supporting the Iranian Resistance was one of the most challenging and yet the most inspiring. Why? Because it was not only a political cause. It was a struggle for life itself\u2014for freedom, for human rights, for survival.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What began as curiosity grew into conviction, and finally into solidarity rooted in personal bonds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cIn the Resistance, I was not only a politician or a scholar, but at times a student, at times a fighter\u2014and always a human being who cannot remain silent in the face of injustice.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What makes this book particularly moving is its balance between realism and hope. S\u00fcssmuth does not shy away from recounting the regime\u2019s darkest crimes, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/iran1988.org\/1988-massacre\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1988 massacre of political prisoners.<\/a> Yet she insists that through the Resistance\u2014especially through its women\u2014she has witnessed a vision of Iran\u2019s future that is brighter, freer, and more humane.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>\u201cIn Maryam Rajavi and the Resistance, I found not only a political leader but also a sister in spirit, bound by shared values and the struggle for human dignity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Rita S\u00fcssmuth believes in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranFreedom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranFreedom<\/a>! What about you? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran_Maryam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran_Maryam<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/O2fpolf11g\">pic.twitter.com\/O2fpolf11g<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/611238402214764547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 17, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Call for Global Solidarity<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The book ends with a call that resonates far beyond Iran. S\u00fcssmuth insists that the Resistance in Iran is not an isolated fight but part of a global movement for human dignity. Quoting Martin Luther King, she concludes:\u00a0<em>\u201cHere, a new history is being written that must be heard. A brighter future for Iran, the region, and the world is taking shape. This is no longer a distant dream but a growing reality. And it assures me that we are standing on the right side of hope.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Why This Book Matters Today<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.in\/Iran-Wandel-German-Rita-S%C3%BCssmuth-ebook\/dp\/B0FCSJSLBT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iran on the Brink of Transformation<\/a> is not merely the testimony of a former parliament president; it is the moral voice of a woman who has chosen to stand where it matters most\u2014beside those fighting for freedom. It is both a historical document and a human invitation: to recognize the courage of Iranian women, to grasp the urgency of democratic change, and to join in a struggle whose outcome will resonate far beyond Iran\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For readers seeking inspiration, for advocates of human rights, and for anyone who believes in the power of women to shape history, this book is not just recommended\u2014it is essential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a woman who has stood at the very peak of political leadership in Europe turns her attention to the struggle for freedom in Iran, the world should listen. Professor [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":337299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[222],"class_list":{"0":"post-337296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-resistance","8":"tag-iranian-resistance"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Iran on the Brink of Transformation: Women, Resistance, and My Personal Journey - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When a woman who has stood at the very peak of political leadership in Europe turns her attention to the struggle for freedom in Iran, the world should\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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