Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament is facing a difficult choice: will it finally grant women the legal right to ride motorcycles?
For decades, women in Iran have been barred from obtaining licenses -- a restriction enforced through institutional loopholes rather than an explicit ban.
Official traffic regulations only mention men as eligible applicants, leaving female riders vulnerable to fines, bike confiscation, and harassment if they take the driver’s seat in public. Hard-liners have often defended this exclusion on the grounds of “Islamic values” and public morality.
Yet many women have defied the ban, framing the right to ride as a matter of both personal freedom and equality.
Now, the government has submitted a bill to parliament that would amend licensing laws and, for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, allow women to receive motorcycle permits.
The proposal comes at a pivotal moment -- just a few years after nationwide protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in 2022, which reignited debates about women’s rights, public space, and bodily autonomy.
Supporters argue that the bill marks progress, while skeptics see it as a tactical move by the establishment to ease public anger at a time when the Islamic republic is under growing domestic and international pressure.
Mohammad Taghi Fazel Meybodi, a religious scholar and member of the Central Assembly of the Qom Seminary Scholars and Researchers, says there is no religious prohibition against women riding motorcycles.
“Just like a man can ride a motorcycle, a woman can as well. You can’t outlaw something for women that neither God nor the Prophet [Muhammad] issued a ruling for,” he told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
He called it “ridiculous” that such a trivial issue must be resolved through a government bill debated in parliament.
“Depriving women of motorcycle licenses is akin to depriving them of the right to vote,” he added.
Iran remains one of the few countries where women are still denied this right. Even Saudi Arabia, which until recently banned women from driving cars altogether, has lifted its restrictions.
It is unclear when parliament will vote on the bill or whether it will pass. But one thing is clear: Iranian women will continue to defy the authorities until their rights are recognized.
