Last Update: 28 October 2021
Making big headlines on the topic of women and motorcycling, is of the two women in Iran who were arrested for riding a motorcycle. Local police commander, stated, “This manifested the utmost denunciation of religious norms by the two girls and caused serious torment and anxiety among city officials,” he said. Law enforcement chief, Ali Elhami, accused them of committing an “ugly” act.
Women in Iran are barred from obtaining licenses to drive motorcycles in public.
The two women riding the motorcycle were surrounded by male onlookers at a local park which prompted complaints about the women’s dress, appearance and interaction with the men. The state security forces carried out an extensive investigation and finally managed to find, arrest, and deliver the two women to judiciary officials.
The video (view below) of the two women went viral while igniting a massive social media backlash against the country’s religious and political establishments.
Women In Iran Arrested for Riding A Motorcycle
This image here was from the video was posted on Iranian investigative journalist Masih Alinejad’s Facebook page. Masih is the founder of the My Stealthy Freedom rights campaign for Iranian women. She commented on her Facebook page and expressed that the men in the video had undergone a “poor social education” in a system that “instils judgements and discrimination”.
The video shows the women, wearing headscarves and loose clothing, being followed down a road by a large group of male motorcyclists, shouting and whistling. The two women were arrested for breaking “revolutionary norms and values” after being filmed riding a motorcycle in Iran. Officials in the city of Dezful said they had “exploited the opportunity” presented by a lack of police in a national park to commit an “obscene act” worsened by the spread of footage online.
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Iran does not ban all women from motorcycle riding. Off-road motorcycle racer Behnaz Shafiei was among a group of women granted official permission to practice on off-road circuits in 2015.
The criticism in this situation has all women saying that these women have not committed a crime; they should have been treated as victims of harassment.
*Source aggregated news
