{"id":343029,"date":"2026-02-25T13:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T12:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=343029"},"modified":"2026-02-25T14:29:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:29:50","slug":"prof-donna-hughes-women-led-resistance-units-are-driving-irans-next-phase-of-defiance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/prof-donna-hughes-women-led-resistance-units-are-driving-irans-next-phase-of-defiance\/","title":{"rendered":"Prof. Donna Hughes: Women-Led Resistance Units Are Driving Iran\u2019s Next Phase of Defiance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Prof.
Prof. Donna Hughes addresses an international meeting honoring the 2026 International Women’s Day on February 21, 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Professor Emerita of Gender and Women\u2019s Studies Donna M. Hughes used her published reflections tied to the 2026 International Women\u2019s Day conference held by the Iranian Resistance<\/a> to frame Iranian women not as symbols of protest, but as the organizers and leaders of a sustained resistance movement.<\/p>\n

Writing on the<\/a> 40th-day memorial period, or Chehelom<\/em>, Prof. Hughes said supporters of freedom in Iran had transformed mourning into defiance, arguing that families and protesters were turning grief into \u201cenergy and rage\u201d rather than retreat. She reiterated a central conference theme \u2014 that women\u2019s leadership is decisive in Iran\u2019s struggle \u2014 and credited Mrs. Maryam Rajavi<\/a> with long predicting that the women most oppressed by the regime would become the force that ultimately breaks it.<\/p>\n

Prof. Hughes focused especially on the role of Resistance Units<\/a>, describing women-led networks active across dozens of cities through graffiti, banners, and attacks on regime symbols, while also sustaining morale during protests and organizing behind the scenes. She wrote that women and youth had prepared for years and, once mobilized, helped lead thousands into the streets, often unarmed, under slogans rejecting both monarchy and clerical rule. Even after large demonstrations subsided, Prof. Hughes said the Resistance Units remained active in what she called \u201cthe next phase of the Revolution,\u201d driven by women\u2019s leadership and the determination of youth.<\/p>\n

The full text of Professor Donna M. Hughes\u2019s article is republished below as distributed in connection with the conference.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Text of my short comment for International Women's Day in Paris, 2006. Women's Leadership in the Resistance Units in Iran.https:\/\/t.co\/hE8PM9yEpf<\/a><\/p>\n

— Donna M. Hughes (@dignitydh) February 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n