TEHRAN (AFP) — When she first started learning to ride a motorbike, Iranian Maryam Ghelich, now an instructor, would drive through Tehran’s empty streets at night to avoid scrutiny over her clothing or lack of a license.
Fifteen years on, Ghelich has trained hundreds of women, helping them navigate not only the capital’s gridlocked streets but the barriers facing women motorcyclists in the conservative Islamic republic, with a marked surge in demand for lessons in recent months.
“This sport was one of my passions, and in Iran it had long been taken for granted that motorcycling was only for men,” she told Agence France-Presse at a training center in northern Tehran.
On streets and at intersections across Iran, women on mopeds and motorbikes wearing colorful helmets have become an increasingly common sight, signaling a subtle but noticeable shift in social attitudes over a matter of months.
“I tried to prove that women can also have successful participation in this field,” said 49-year-old Ghelich, a long-time member of Iran’s Motorcycling and Automobile Federation.
Ghelich, who is a certified instructor with the federation, explained how she had watched the change unfold in real time after spending more than a decade as one of only a handful of women riders.
“People’s perspectives in our society have really changed. It wasn’t accepted at all before,” she said, explaining there has been a sharp rise in women enrolling in her courses in recent months, whether for city riding or for racing.
“When I see the women we trained out riding on the streets, I really enjoy seeing that families are now accepting it,” she added.
While traffic laws do not explicitly ban women from riding, authorities have never issued motorcycle licenses to them in practice, with the issue gaining urgency with the noticeable rise in women riding.
Niloufar, a 43-year-old fashion designer who asked only to be identified by her first name, said the lack of licenses is of serious concern.