Iran is finally thinking about allowing women to ride motorcycles
As it stands in Iran, women can drive cars but only ride as passengers on bikes - but that could be set to change.
Iran is, according to numerous reports, looking at lifting the ban on women riding motorcycles, meaning female riders will finally be able to take to two wheels legally.
As reported on AL-Monitor, a website that states it is the “Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source”, a bill is currently being considered in the Iranian parliament which could change the rules, should it be written into law.
The website quotes Kazem Delkhosh, a deputy assistant to the presidency’s parliamentary affairs office. Speaking to local media, Delkosh said. “In the event of a traffic accident involving women driving motorcycles, the damages caused to other vehicles or pedestrians are not covered by insurance … This poses serious financial risks not only for women motorcyclists but also for all road users.”
At present, Iran only allows men to gain motorcycle licences, and while women are able to get behind the wheel of a car and legally drive it, there is a disparity in rules around motorcycle usage. That means a legal blackhole for female riders and, as Delkosh points out, other road users - and that’s before we have even got into the inequality of the situation.
Back in January 2024, there was a glimmer of hope for female riders in Iran. The country’s Vice President for Women’s Affairs, Ensieh Khazali, suggested that work was underway to finally allow women to obtain motorcycle licences – a move that would have marked a major shift in policy.
But by May, that optimism had all but vanished. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi flatly stated that the issue wasn’t even on the government’s agenda, according to London-based outlet Iran International.
It’s another chapter in a long story of restrictions faced by women in Iran. Alongside mandatory head-covering laws and male guardianship rules, women are also subject to discrimination in divorce proceedings, child custody battles, and inheritance rights. The right to ride, it seems, is still very much on the sidestand.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
