CEO of the 'Body Injury Compensation Fund' Calls for Issuing 'Motorcycle Licenses' for Women

The CEO of the 'Body Injury Compensation Fund' has warned about the increase in accidents and the lack of third-party insurance for female motorcyclists, as well as the issues related to the non-issuance of motorcycle licenses for women, calling for a resolution to this legal gap. According to the news agency 'Ekhtebar', while the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic recently stated that there is no obligation to issue motorcycle licenses for women, a letter from Mehdi Qamsariyani, the CEO of the Body Injury Compensation Fund, has been published requesting the Women and Family Affairs Department to address the legal gap in issuing this license. The letter explains that with the increasing number of female motorcyclists, especially using scooters, the risk of accidents and damages has risen. However, due to the legal gap, women are not allowed to obtain a driving license suitable for female motorcyclists. Qamsariyani pointed out that so far about 21% of the Body Injury Compensation Fund's budget has been allocated for women victims. He added that due to this deprivation of obtaining a license, many women are reluctant to purchase third-party insurance. As a result, in the event of an accident, insurance companies refer to the drivers responsible for the accident due to the lack of a license, and the damages caused by the responsible driver cannot be compensated. According to the letter from the CEO of the Body Injury Compensation Fund, statistics show that the increase in the movement of female motorcyclists has led to an increase in traffic accidents, in which female motorcyclists have been found at fault in some cases. Qamsariyani further stated that the Body Injury Compensation Fund has paid 80 billion rials to prevent the imprisonment of 43 women responsible for accidents who lacked third-party insurance. This is while, if they had the appropriate license and third-party insurance, these problems would not have arisen. At the end of this letter, Qamsariyani emphasized the necessity of amending laws to eliminate gender discrimination in obtaining motorcycle licenses and urged officials to seriously pursue this issue so that female motorcyclists can benefit from third-party insurance. Despite repeated requests from women, the traffic police and the Ministry of Interior have repeatedly stated that 'the law' does not allow the issuance of licenses for women to ride motorcycles. Riding motorcycles and bicycles by women is recognized as one of the instances of gender discrimination against women in public spaces and has repeatedly provoked widespread reactions and protests from women's activists and civil society. Responses to the approval of the Hijab and Chastity bill: It is misogynistic; Medicalian should protest. A member of parliament reacted to the government's spokesperson's comments about 'Hijab': He should comment in his area of expertise. The parliament held a coordination meeting with the police for the implementation of the 'Hijab and Chastity Law'. The newspaper 'Etemad' reported on the government's request for a postponement in the implementation of the 'Hijab and Chastity Law'.