As Israel’s Operation Rising Lion enters its fifth day of strikes over Iranian airspace, a quieter but no less audacious form of resistance roars along its streets. For over 40 years, since the 1979 revolution, Iranian women have faced an unwritten ban on motorcycle licenses, barred despite being permitted to drive cars or ride as passengers. Authorities enforce restrictions rooted in conservative views on female mobility with unwavering resolve.
Yet defiantly, women mount bikes knowing fines (~1 million toman – ~$25), up to six months’ imprisonment, or confiscation await – risks now amplified by missile strikes and airstrikes since June 13, 2025. They film their clandestine rides, sharing them online. Now, the hum of engines carries a different kind of defiance, highlighting both the fragility of wartime normalcy and the enduring struggle for gender equality in Iran.
No Women Riders Without a Law
Article 20 of Iran’s traffic code – referencing only men – enables this de facto ban. In 2019, a court in Isfahan granted a license to a woman, Fatemeh Eftekhari, only for authorities to revoke it a year later in 2020. Shortly after, she was attacked by a man for merely wearing motorcycle riding gear.
The state actively enables persecution. As Isfahan Police Commander Hamid Alineghianpour asserted that same month:
“Any vehicle that’s driven must have a legal permit, and since women don’t have motorcycle licenses, riding motorcycles is against the law, and the police will take action against it.”
Iran’s ultra-conservative mullahs deem women riding motorcycles “un-Islamic,” arguing they can’t wear their hijab properly while riding–a justification standing in stark contrast to the rules permitting women to ride as passengers behind male drivers, where their bodies are considered concealed.
In May, 2024, Ahmad Vahidi, appointed head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) after serving as Interior Minister, declared that permitting women motorcycle licenses is “not currently on the government’s agenda,” dismissing the former Vice President Ensieh Khazali’s earlier openness to reform. His reasoning: “The sight of a woman in motion is immoral.”
“None of That Matters, You’re a Woman”
A striking example is the August 2024 case of journalist Mina Akbari, whose motorcycle was seized during a street stop. Presenting her helmet, gloves, and international license did not help; the officer told her:
“None of that matters, you’re a woman!”
“Type of offense: female rider.”
Motocross as Subtle Rebellion
Behnaz Shafiei, a pioneer in Iran’s motocross community, has practiced in secret for years—often riding late at night in tracks on Tehran’s outskirts. As described in a 2015 interview:
“Motorbike riding was banned in the streets, so I had no choice but to practice in secret at nighttime.”
Shafiei eventually became Iran’s first professional female road racer and one of just six riders granted access to amateur circuits—yet she remains prohibited from public road use.
Women Working from the Shadows
“Melika_mostafa_biker” navigates Tehran as a motorcycle delivery rider. On Instagram, she details using layers and helmets not for safety, but survival:
“I dress to conceal my identity as a woman.”
City Bikes: Transport & Income
For many women, bikes are essential. As trainer Zahra Abedini told FRANCE 24:
“Motorcycles are vital transport across Iran – even a source of income.”
At her covert riding school, she frames biking as both rebellion and survival. With Iran’s minimum wage at $120/month, scooters offer affordable mobility for work, childcare, and deliveries—crushing distances that low wages and poor transit can’t bridge.
This reality forced Vice President Zahra Behrouz Azar to concede on March 12, 2025:
“We see that many women are now riding motorbikes, and the government is supportive of issuing motorbike driving licences for women.”
Yet no policy changes followed.
Still Adventuring Amid Airstrikes
Even as explosions continue to strike Tehran since June 13, women still embark on adventure rides across Iran. Their journeys persist despite Israel’s latest strike on the Iranian state television channel on June 16 – the same day President Trump warned Tehran residents to evacuate ‘before it’s too late.’
From the Alborz mountains to the Persian Gulf coast, solo riders, all-female convoys, and mixed-gender groups navigate checkpoints and war zones—their engines defying danger as systemic repression escalates.
These individual acts unfold as systemic repression escalates.
Crackdowns Intensify
Meanwhile, broader measures like the UN-documented surveillance of women via drones, facial-recognition apps, and moral policing—particularly under the “Noor Plan” since April 2024—have increased repression against women’s public presence.
Why it Matters
- Visible rebellion: These rides reclaim gendered public space, echoing earlier hijab protests.
- Quiet defiance in crisis: Amid the backdrop of war, each ride affirms daily autonomy.
- Rising pressure: With figures like Akbari and Shafiei drawing attention, calls for formal change intensify.
What Comes Next
The Interior Ministry may deem reform off-limits for now, but the persistence of women’s rides—on back streets, at night, on social feeds—could shift discourse. Clandestine as it may be, this two-wheeled rebellion edges closer to demanding full legal recognition.
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