Last week, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran issued a fatwa on women riding bicycles in the country. According to The Independent, biking "exposes society to corruption" and "contravenes women's chastity," but women in Iran were quick to defy the fatwa, and take to the streets with their bikes.
Using the hashtag #IranianWomenLoveCycling, people from Iran and from around the world are coming together to stand up for the rights of women in Iran.
Watch the video below of a mother and daughter who bravely cycled just hours after the fatwa was issued, and click through to see how women are rallying on social media for change.
Iranian Mother and daughter: we're not giving up cyclingاین فیلم کوتاه را یک مادر و دختر از ایران به صفحه آزادی های یواشکی فرستادند. پیام ساده شان به رهبر جمهوری اسلامی است که اخیرا گفته بود دوچرخه سواری برای زن حرام است: دوچرخه سواری زندگی ما شده و ما حاضر نیستم ورزش مان را کنار بگذاریم
This is my selfie for the Supreme Leader , I am a 25 year old girl from Kish, Iran
#IranianWomenLoveCycling
MySelfieForSupremeLeader#
Mother and daughter's direct message to the new Fatva of the Supreme Leader of Iran:"We Love Cycling and we are not going to give up".
Yesterday the supreme leader of Iran issued a fatwa (a religious edict) in which he ruled that riding bicycles for women is a sinful act. How do you view this fatwa? How do you think Iranian society will respond to this fatwa?
En français / In French:
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Le message direct de la mère et de la fille à la nouvelle fatwa du guide suprême iranien : "Nous aimons faire du vélo et nous ne l'abandonnerons pas."
Hier, le guide suprême iranien a émis une fatwa (un décret religieux) par lequel il réglemente le fait que les femmes faisant du vélo commettent un péché. Comment considérez-vous cette fatwa ? Comment pensez-vous que la société iranienne va répondre à cette fatwa ?
#من_عاشق_دوچرخه_ام
#IranianWomenLoveCycling
Posted by My Stealthy Freedom آزادی یواشکی زنان در ایران on Monday, September 19, 2016