Lady Zeinab (pbuh) played a great role in this victory. Otherwise, the blood finished in Karbala. The military conflict ended with the apparent defeat of the forces defending, the truth on the day of Ashura. However, the thing that made this apparent military defeat turn into a definite, permanent victory was Lady Zeinab's character. This event showed that women are not just in the margins of history. Women exist in the middle of important historical events. What she did, made the enemy - who seemed to have won the military campaign, had crushed his opponents and was then resting on the throne of victory - feel humiliated and belittled in his position of power in his palace. She scorched his forehead with eternal shame, turning his victory into defeat. Zeinab (pbuh) demonstrated that it is possible to turn a woman's hijab and chastity into an honorable, great struggle.
Ayatollah Khamenei April 21, 2010