Iran formally permits women to get motorcycle licences, ending a legal grey area that left female riders vulnerable after accidents.

TEHRAN: Women in Iran can now formally obtain licences to ride motorcycles. This ends years of legal ambiguity surrounding female riders of motorbikes and scooters.

The country’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref signed a resolution on Tuesday to clarify the traffic code. The resolution obliges traffic police to provide training, organise exams, and issue licences to female applicants.

The law had not previously explicitly prohibited women from riding. In practice, however, authorities refused to issue the necessary licences.

Due to this legal grey area, women were often held legally responsible for accidents even when they were the victims. The change follows a wave of protests across Iran that grew into nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, women have faced numerous societal restrictions. Dress codes have posed a particular challenge for those wishing to ride motorcycles.

Women must cover their hair with a headscarf and wear modest clothing in public. In recent years, many have defied these rules, with the number of women on motorbikes rising sharply.

This trend accelerated after the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini. The young woman was arrested for allegedly violating the dress code, and her death sparked protests demanding greater freedoms.

Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 deaths occurred during the recent unrest. The government insists most were members of the security forces and bystanders.

 The Sun Malaysia