‘Queen Bikers’, Tunisia’s All-Female Motorcycle Club

Meet the Queen Bikers, Tunisia’s first all-female motorcycle club.

“There are more than 300 women who have a motorcycle driving licence in Tunisia, but do not practise this sport,” Khadija Hsaini, one of the founding members of the group, told Reuters.

She said there are a host of reasons holding women back. “They do not feel safe, or because they can’t find clubs that they can belong to, or because they don’t want to drive with men and want an all-female group.”

Dozens of motorcycle clubs exist around the country, but are almost exclusively composed of men – many of whom think women should only ride motorcycles as passengers.

So Hsaini set about to find other women to ride with. Among them is Wafa Khalifa.

“The idea [for the club] came when we were all separated,” Khalifa told Reuters. “Each woman owned a motorcycle, but was alone.”

Hsaini reached out to her and others. “She looked for us on social media and found every person in the area. Then she sent messages asking why we were so far from each other.”

Now the women gather regularly to ride their motorcycles along Tunisia’s scenic coastal roads, past Roman ruins and through endless stretches of olive groves. They pause along the way to take selfies with their bikes, and with one another.

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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Chaima Ben Ammou, member of a women’s-only motorcycle club, cleans her bike at her shop in Nabeul‎, Tunisia. Reuters

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TUNISIA