Tehran, Iran (CNN)On a dirt track in the mountains above
Tehran, the rider on the yellow 250cc Suzuki dirt bike speeds through the sand
and dust, propelling off of small slopes and racing on.
This challenging rider can hang with the best on this
course. But there is often an awkward moment of silence when the helmet comes
off and observers acknowledge they've been watching a woman.
Behnaz Shafiei is one of the few women in Iran riding
motocross at a abnormal level. The exuberant 26-year-old says she has loved
motorcycles since she was a child but only took up her passion as a teenager.
"When I was 15 I saw a woman going around doing
whatever she wanted on a motorcycle, and that is when I realized I wanted to
ride one too," she let us know, right after completing several practice
laps on the course.
Getting included in motorcycle racing was difficult task
from the start in Iran, a country where ladies can't even get a license to ride
motorcycles on the streets. Behnaz remembers how stunned a few men were when
she showed up at the dirt bike track looking to compete.
"There are a few groups of men, when they see us they
say, 'You ought to stay at home and cook -- this sport is not for you.' It
makes so frantic, so I want to prove them wrong," she says, although she
is quick to add that the men she trains with on the track outside Tehran have
been nothing but supportive.
Her brother frequently assists her out, and her coach is
Iranian motocross champion and freestyle motorcycle rider Rasoul Najafi. They frequently take to the track together, Najafi
leading the way as he shows Behnaz how to perfect her dominance of the bike.
In the beginning, Najafi says it was a bit peculiar strange
for him to see a lady trying to take up the sport in Iran. Now he believes she
can go far.
"She is extremely capable and can reach very high. But
she needs better facilities and more sponsorship to progress further,"
Najafi says.
Najafi has touched on another issue Behnaz confronts: She
can't compete in races in Iran, and despite being welcome to events in Europe
and the U.S., she regularly lacks the funds to make the trips because she
doesn't have enough sponsors.
The part of women in sports is currently a major issue in
Iran. The country was recently involved in a major debate over whether women should
even be allowed to attend sports events like football games or the ever-famous
volleyball matches.
Conservatives have attempted to maintain a ban on women in
stadiums, but numerous moderates are fighting to get the rules changed.
The case of NiloufarArdalan, the captain of the Iranian women's soccer team, has additionally
incited an international outcry in recent days. Ardalan will not be leading her
team into the Asian Women's Futsal Championships in Malaysia this week because
her husband would not allow her to renew her passport. By law, women must get
their husband's permission to leave the nation.
"I believe 100% you ought not make a difference between
women and men," Shafiei says as she leans on her motorbike. "In
numerous games, women have proven that they are just as good."
Shafiei is contending energetically to achieve her dream of
going star, but she says she also just wants to have fun.
Until then she'll be riding fast, flying high, and hoping
one day she can represent Iran in the sport she loves so much.
