Victory for Iran's Most Famous Female Motorcyclist

Behnaz Shafiei has made history. Not only has she managed to carve a career in a profession off limits to women in Iran — competitive motocross racing — she's helped other women pursue their dreams of competing too.

Now the champion has persuaded Iranian authorities to let her and other female motorcyclists ride on the Azadi Race Track in Iran, something her manager Hooman Tavakolian describes as a "huge step." Following the news on July 9 that authorities had agreed to grant Shafiei and her fellow athletes a permit, the first practice will take place on July 17, and then twice a week from then on.

In February, Shafiei successfully appealed to Iran's sports ministry to allow her to stage the first all-women race in Iran. The race took place on February 3. 

Shafiei recently traveled to the United States, where she trained and competed. Her manager was able to secure her visa before President Trump's executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries was introduced, but it's undoubtedly been a difficult environment for promoting her cause. Despite this, Tavakolian says, her profile in the international community is growing — and this can only be a good thing for women athletes and women's rights in Iran. 

Shafiei also came to the attention of Danish design company Georg Jensen late last year. In December 2016, it featured her as part of an advertising campaign celebrating women who push boundaries. 

Women athletes in Iran face discrimination, are often banned from traveling, and don't benefit from equal budgets from Iran's sports ministry. Many religious authorities believe women should not even take part in sport, and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei couldn't bring himself to mention taekwondo athlete Kimia Alizadeh by name when she won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics. 

Female sports fans face bans too, and are not allowed to attend football or volleyball matches in stadiums.

Speaking to IranWire in 2015 about what it was like to learn to ride a motorcycle, Shafiei said, “Riding in cities is more difficult and I was scared at the beginning. I’d wear sportswear so nobody would know that I was a girl. ” She also tended to practice at night so she was not harassed. 

“Many of the older, male riders didn’t appreciate my success,” Shafiei said in an interview for the Georg Jensen campaign. “Despite my accomplishments, they told me to stop riding. Many Iranian men thought motocross was not for girls. I think they have the wrong attitude. I think that women can do anything.”