Video: Women in Iran defy fatwa forbidding them from cycling

Women in Iran have reacted to a fatwa issued by the country’s supreme leader that forbids them from cycling by posting videos and photographs to social media that show them riding bikes.

Among the first to do so after the new religious law was pronounced by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were a mother and daughter from capital city Teheran.

They heard about it while holidaying on the Kish Island resort in the Persian Gulf.

So what did they do? The pair hired bikes, and filmed themselves riding them, of course.

“Bicycle riding is part of our lives,” said the daughter, adding that cycling “is our absolute right and we’re not going to give it up.”

Their video was shared on the Facebook page of the women’s rights group My Stealthy Freedom, with other women also posting their own photos and videos.

In July a group of women taking part in a cycling event in northern Iran were arrested for riding bicycles, with some made to sign a pledge saying they would not do so again.

> Woman arrested in Iran - for riding bikes

Human rights campaigners accused the country’s regime of misogyny and said it was an infringement of women’s hard-won rights.