Behnaz Shafiei

Behnaz Shafiei
First female road racing champion of Iran
Nationality Iran Iranian
Born (1989-12-18) 18 December 1989
Karaj, Iran
Bike number 16

Behnaz Shafiei (Persian: بهناز شفيعی‎) is a motocross rider and road racer from Iran, born and raised in Karaj, near Tehran, Iran. She is a motocross rider and the only Iranian female rider to have done professional road racing.[1]

Early life

Shafiei's obsession started when she was on a family holiday in Zanjan, Iran. She was 15 back then and that was the first time she saw a woman on a motorbike. Shafiei went for one ride and loved it since.[2][3]

Her coach, Rasoul Najafi, is an Iranian motocross champion and freestyle motorcycle rider. Apart from him, her brother also helps her out on the track.[4] Her mother was also supportive of her passion.

Mahinkhaki said that it was a little strange to see a woman taking up biking but now he sees her potential.[4]

She got her first bike at the age of 22, an Apache 180cc and used to ride is late in the night dressed up as a boy.[5][1] She did that for about ten years while going to school in the morning to becomes an accountant.[6] She also has a 2012 Suzuki 250cc and cbr 300cc.

Career and recognition

In just 2015 and 2016, she trained over 100 women to drive in the dusty mountain backroads of the desert terrain in Iran. After relentlessly fighting for three years, in February 2017, she was finally able to influence the Iran’s national sports ministry to conduct the country’s first female-only race.[6]

Since the Sports ministry said it is not a sport for women, she trained and increased the number of female riders. Lot of letters were written and visits to the ministry, they finally approved.[2][7]

She currently trains with Javad Zanjani[5] and the only Iranian female rider to have done professional road racing. Shafiei is one among the only six female racers to gained access to amateur tracks in Iran.

She is a first female road racer in Iran and first champion motorcyclist in Iran

References

  1. 1 2 Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (2015-04-13). "Roaring to go: the female motorbike rider who wants to race for Iran". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  2. 1 2 Gunter, Joel (2017-02-03). "Behnaz Shafiei: Iran's trailblazing female biker". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  3. ↑ "Fearless female motocross rider races for gender equality in Iran". Women in the World in Association with The New York Times - WITW. 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  4. 1 2 CNN, Frederik Pleitgen,. "The female motocross rider who wants to represent Iran - CNN". CNN. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  5. 1 2 "Iranian biker blazes trail for women". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  6. 1 2 "Motocross: How Iran's first female racer has started a revolution of Muslim women riders". Excelle Sports. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  7. ↑ "Behnaz Shafiei rides bikes against laws and convention in Iran". BBC Sport. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2017-09-16.


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