the government crackdown . At Shiraz University , riot police clubbed women dressed in black robes . `` Do n't beat them , you bastards , '' one man yells . When security forces come to attack , the 19-year-old woman protester says she looks them in the eye and asks : `` Why do you kill your brother ? Why do you hit your mother , your sisters ? '' `` We all tell them , if you 're Iranian , you should n't do that to your people , to your own country 's people , '' she told CNN by phone . Watch woman stand up in defiance to power '' But it 's the woman known as Neda who has become the symbol of women on the front line that has galvanized opponents of the Iranian regime . In a widely circulated video , Neda is seen in the middle of protests over the weekend . She is shot and drops to the ground . Blood runs from the side of her mouth as a few people , including her music professor traveling with her , press on her chest and shout her name . One
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A young Iranian woman named Neda is gunned down in one of the most iconic images of the last week . Another walks down the street , defiantly showing off her hair and body in a revealing dress . And still another woman says she 's not scared of paramilitary forces -- no matter how many times she gets beaten . Women have taken to the streets of Tehran . `` This shows the new face of Iran , '' one expert says . `` When they want to hit me , I say hit . I have been hit so many times and this time it does n't matter . I just want to help my brothers and sisters , '' says the 19-year-old woman whose identity is being withheld by CNN for her safety . Amid the clashes and chaos , there has been a recurring scene on the streets of Tehran : Women , in their scarves and traditional clothing , at the heart of the struggle . Some are seen collecting rocks for ammunition against security forces , while video showed one woman trying to protect a fallen pro-government militiaman wounded in