In this episode of the NCRI Women’s Committee Podcast, we explore the unprecedented developments unfolding in Iran following the January 2026 uprising and the collapse of decades of religious dictatorship.

As the Iranian people move toward a new political future, two powerful themes stand at the center of this historic moment: the demand for complete national self-determination and the crucial role of women in shaping Iran’s democratic future.

We examine the immense sacrifices made during the uprising, the international consequences that followed, and the formation of a provisional government by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Most importantly, we take a deep dive into why women’s leadership has become the defining force of Iran’s resistance movement.

For decades, Iranian women have stood at the forefront of the struggle for freedom, equality, and democracy. From organizing resistance networks to shaping political strategy, their leadership has become the benchmark for a truly democratic alternative.

This episode also explores the NCRI’s long-standing vision for gender equality, including a comprehensive charter supporting women’s rights, equal pay, freedom of choice, and the separation of religion and state.

As Iran stands at a historic crossroads, we ask a critical question:
If democracy is measured by the power entrusted to women, what lessons can the world learn from the Iranian women leading this movement?

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Bienvenue pour un nouvel épisode de podcast de la commission des femmes du conseil national de la résistance iranienne. C'est toujours un plaisir d'être là. Et aujourd'hui, on plonge au coeur d'une série de documents de rapports vraiment intenses. Très intenses, oui. Ces sources se concentrent sur les événements de la mi-février deux-mille-vingt-six en Iran.

Voilà la période des commémorations. Exactement. Cette édition coïncide d'ailleurs avec les cérémonies du quarantième jour, le shelom, pour les âmes courageuses qui ont lutté pour la liberté de l'Iran. Et des personnes qui ont perdu la vie lors de la répression sanglante du soulèvement de janvier deux-mille-vingt-six. Et la mission de notre exploration aujourd'hui, c'est de comprendre comment ces rituels de deuil, bien loin de n'être que de simples actes de recueillement.

C'est bien plus que ça en effet. Comment ils se sont métamorphosés en de puissantes démonstrations de défis politiques avec une colère publique vraiment soutenue. Absolument et avec un point central qui ressort de toutes nos sources, le rôle prédominant très visible des femmes. Tout au long de ce mouvement.

Alors pour bien comprendre l'ampleur de ce qui s'est passé en février, nos rapports nous ramènent un peu en arrière fin deux-mille-vingt-cinq. Le vingt-huit décembre deux-mille-vingt-cinq très précisément. Ouais et ce qui est fou c'est que tout ça n'a pas commencé par une revendication purement politique. Non, au départ c'est une crise économique. Une grève, les commerçants du grand bazar au centre de Téhéran.

Acculés par la chute vertigineuse du rial et une inflation incontrôlable. Ils ont juste baissé le rideau parce que la survie au quotidien devenait impossible. Et le bazar, tu sais, ce n'est pas n'importe quoi en Iran, c'est un pilier traditionnellement conservateur. Donc si la fracture commence là, c'est que le contrat social est vraiment rompu. Totalement brisé.

Et l'escalade est fulgurante. En quelques jours à peine, on passe de revendications sur le coût de la vie à. À une demande directe de changement de régime. C'est ça. Ça s'étend à des dizaines de provinces, ça touche les universités.

Mais la réponse en face, la répression a été d'une brutalité glaçante. Les rapports parlent de milliers de civils tués en janvier. Dont plus d'une centaine d'enfants. C'est une statistique qui revêt en boucle dans les documents. C'est ce traumatisme collectif immense qui plante le décor pour février.

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Welcome to another episode of the NCRI Women's Committee Podcast. I am your host and I am thrilled to have our resident expert sitting across the table from me today. Hey everyone, it is great to be back. I am really looking forward to getting into our source material today. Yeah, And we've got quite a deep dive ahead of us.

We are looking at a very specific, a very specific window of time, mid February 2026. Right. Specifically, the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, eighteenth, and twentieth. And, you know, to anyone just glancing at a calendar, those are just normal days in a month. But based on the sources we have in the context of the Iranian uprising, these dates represent a well, it's essentially a collision course. They absolutely do.

The Power of 40th Day Memorial: When Mourning Is Mandatory

And to really understand why these dates matter so much, we have to look back at the tragedy that set them in motion. We were talking about the fortieth day memorial ceremonies. The Exactly. The Chehellom (40th Day memorial) for the victims of the bloody crackdown that happened in January 2026.

Right. And for our listeners who might not be fully versed in the cultural nuances of this because it's so central to our deep dive today, can you explain the mechanics of Chehellom (40th Day memorial)? It really seems like the regime is caught in a loop that they just can't break. It is a massive paradox and arguably it's the regime's biggest strategic nightmare right now because in Iranian culture and Shia tradition specifically the fortieth day after a death isn't just a suggestion it is a mandatory time of mourning. You visit the grave site, you pay your respects.

Right. It is a deeply ingrained religious and cultural obligation. So, the regime is in a serious bind here. I mean, they can ban street protests, they can tear down banners, but they can't legally or culturally ban a family from visiting a grave without declaring war on the culture itself. Precisely.

And that is exactly the mission of our deep dive today. Okay.

From Tears to Tactical Resistance

We're going to look at how these quiet, traditional mourning rituals have been completely transformed. Yeah. Because they aren't just about passive grief anymore.

The sources make that very clear. They do. One of the reports explicitly states that these memorials have evolved into operational battlegrounds and vibrant political rallies. The traditional tears have basically turned into sparks. And the fuel for those sparks?

Sustained public anger. And crucially, and this is really the focal point we are exploring today, the leadership of women in all of this. This isn't just a general leaderless crowd. The sources highlight that this is a movement where women are the visible tactical leaders. Let's step back for just a second before we get into the specific stories.

We have some incredible profiles of these women to cover, but how did we get to February? Because this didn't just happen in a vacuum. No, it really didn't. You have to trace the fuse back a bit. Yeah.

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