Maintain, for instance, the woman is making a comeback (6)
I believe the answer is:
allege
'maintain' is the definition.
(alleging is a kind of maintaining)
'for instance the woman is making a comeback' is the wordplay.
'for instance' becomes 'eg' ('e.g.' can be a synonym of 'for instance').
'the woman' becomes 'ella' (**).
'is making a comeback' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'eg'+'ella'='egella'
'egella' reversed gives 'ALLEGE'.
(Other definitions for allege that I've seen before include "Assert - maintain" , "Declare or accuse without proof" , "Claim, suggest" , "Aver - maintain" , "Declare or assert without proof" .)