London, 14 Sep – Iran’s supreme leader has issued a fatwa banning women from cycling in public because of the risk of societal corruption.
In a move branded “ridiculous”, by the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Ali Khamenei banned women from riding bicycles in public to retain modesty.
On September 10, via the state-run media, he said: “Riding bicycles often attracts the attention of men and exposes the society to corruption, and thus contravenes women’s chastity, and it must be abandoned.”
This baffling ban comes just a week after Khamenei defined the role of women as “motherhood and housekeeping” while discussing the state’s policies towards family on his website.
While laughable, the fatwa and his remarks on a woman’s role are deeply troubling.
The Iranian Regime faces growing problems and rather than fixing them, it chooses to further penalise the most discriminated against in society.
However, the NCRI’s Women’s Committee remains convinced that they can overcome the regime. Their message ends: “No doubt, with solidarity and unity among the oppressed sectors of Iranian society, this fascist, and misogynist regime would soon be toppled.”
