The woman taking father's part (3)
I believe the answer is:
her
'the woman' is the definition.
('her' refers to a woman)
'taking father's part' is the wordplay.
'part' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'HER' is hidden in the letters of 'taking fathers'.
(Other definitions for her that I've seen before include "Belonging to the woman" , "Pronoun used of ship" , "That lady" , "In the Midlands she" , "Belonging to a female" .)