Violating Iranian laws on a motorcycle

This was the beginning of a revolution that would change Iranian society forever. Since September 16, the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died from the beatings she received at the police station where she was transferred to an ‘educational course on the correct use of the hijab’, the women of Iran they said enough about the laws imposed by the ayatollahs and their ‘morality police’.

It has been suppressed, vetoed and saturated by religious rules ever since Khomeini took power in 1979, Iranian women have long fought to claim rights that to the West seem shockingly absent. Like being able to drive on the streets of Tehran alone.

Fuel in the veins

Maryam Talae (Shiraz1980) returns to Iran in 2015, after spending several years in Canada where, in 2009, he started riding a motorcycle, to incorporate the desired change behind a Kawasaki. Talaee is, little by little, making a niche in the motor world Tehran with the connivance of a few men and the encouragement of many women. He was born into a family where the sport of two or four wheels was always present: his four brothers and he had fuel running through their veins and racing was the injection that set their vitals in motion. machine.

Contrary to Islamic customs

Knowing and respecting what Islamic rules imposed on women, with patience and care, he asked and asked and again asked for authorization to race his 250 on a circuit, until then reserved only for those horseman It took about a year and in 2016 they were allowed to use the circuit one day a week, just two hours and train. Three more years had to pass before they held their first competition.

In 2019, few Iranian women ran and felt ready for a competition but now there are more than 30. But getting a circuit is the easy part because they have to face other restrictions: their races cannot be attended by men and pilot suits must be loose enough not to intuit feminine curves. Hair also had to be covered when the helmet was removed. It is clear that the races are also not broadcast on television and they are never publicized on social networks, usually to discourage the spectators.

Mary acknowledges that “Many people look at us as if we are strange. There are those who still do not accept us. There is still a long way to go.”

change the system

In a report by Jaime León of Agencia EFE, Talaee explained that “We are trying to change the system. We are trying to get people and organizations to get used to it” and that “it continues to be surprising to see that in other parts of the world, women reach positions that are considered very masculine, such as driving large vehicles or machines. while in Iran they cannot drive a car or a motorcycle.”

However, it continues to work to change, beyond the norms, the concept of the role of women. For this reason, he created a car repair and tuning workshop where he taught many women the trade. Women like her who break the imposed rules will also be brave. It shouldn’t be easy every day, but in the workshop, Mary offering them a sorority space, an oasis in the desert of female oppression.

achieve other goals

In 2019, Mary achieved what no other Iranian could: he crossed over Africa on a trip that took him six months and allowed him to discover the cultures and people of the continent. But in addition, overcoming problems, on a daily basis, whether mechanical, administrative or mental, showed him “how far he can go”. She told the BBC in an interview that “I did something that no Iranian woman had done before. Something completely different to show that we can do what we set out to do”.

So, when you come back to Iran, many failures that arise in the meeting of the factory or in the organization of races, are faced in a different way. The road will be long and complicated but it is always done with a first step and Talaee It has traveled several kilometers and shows that “I break barriers for Iranian women. I’m not just doing this for myself, I’m doing this for all women.”