In a march on a global succession .. Arab women who beat their country with motorcycles

Hala Al-Khatib - Beirut

Driving a motorbike appears to be one of the semi-monopolistic hobbies for men, but young Arab women from around the world decided to drive their motorbikes on the roads of 80 countries in one year, in a march following their country and handing the map to another team on the country's borders to complete the road.

Lebanese Lara Tarabiah tells that the goal of the idea, launched by British Hayley Bell, is to highlight the role and place of women in this sport.

The first trip from Stockholm began in February 2019 to Dubai on January 31 and February 1, 2020, in a sequential manner with the participation of women from 80 countries around the world, and each country has an ambassador to raise awareness and gather women, and Lara is the representative of the Middle East.

And Lara explains that the idea is like an Olympic trip that started from Stockholm and traveled to a number of European countries and reached America and Africa. And that in countries that communicate with land borders, each female ambassador with her team would deliver this stick to the ambassador of the neighboring country by hand, and in the absence of borders, the stick would be sent by mail to complete the path.

The idea marketed some women interested in bicycles in the Arab countries in Lebanon, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

"As for my position as an actress or ambassador to the Middle East, I received the stick through a friend of mine from the Emirates after I arrived in Kenya where I traveled and delivered it by hand," Lara says herself.

This trip faced many obstacles and disappointments, despite the cooperation of some countries, as the police accompanied the march. Note that the full details of the trip, from organizing and exploring the appropriate roads, were via women, according to Lara, and the path varied from one country to another, while while he was limited in countries to a few hours, he arrived for a whole week in other countries.

Lara treats her bike with real passion, loves team unity and pays attention to every detail. She says that the idea that this hobby is reserved for men must be changed. "We wanted to tell the world that motorcyclists are present in a large number, and they should be taken seriously because they are able to make a big difference."

Meditation on the desert of Qatar
From Qatar, Margarita Zunega participated in the relay march after she organized an event in Qatar that gathered women riding motorcycles last month.

She bought a bike and gradually learned to ride herself, starting from the courtyard to the clogged roads to the Gulf countries and then to the roads of the world.

Margarita says her best time is in the early morning or at sunset when her bike drives her northwest towards Zekrit, where she sometimes meets caravans of camels, and tells that once she goes black camel to her white bike to smell after her color has attracted her. And sometimes she goes on her bike to meditate in the desert.

Margarita has led her bike in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, South Africa and the United States of America, individually at one time and with groups at other times.

Margarita participated in the WRWR Ripple Relay event in Doha, where women cycled an hour on a relay trip from downtown Doha to Simaisma to the city. "People respect women more when they know that she is riding a bike. A woman is able to do anything like a man if she wants to," she concludes.

Drive with caution and with the parent
Sarah Al-Masry, from a Syrian father and an American mother, participated in the relay tour in the Emirates where she is staying for two days, after Lara told her about it, and says she hopes that in the next event she will be more present.

Sarah tells that her father had bought a motorcycle at the age of 15 in Syria, and she also drove the bike for the first time in the age of 15, until she was driving herself instead of riding behind him.

Sarah drives her bike attentively without speed, and says that while driving makes adrenaline flow, care and safety must be taken from the right athletic shoe to the helmet, and more.

She adds that pedestrians and motorists look at her and sometimes photograph or praise her bravery, and she feels she is doing something special, especially since there are not many women who drive motorcycles. She adds that leadership gives a feeling of strength and encourages women not to be afraid to do something that is strange or exceptional.