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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| She drives real fast and she drives real hard, she's the terror of Tehran's boulevards |
| 2008-01-17 |
| Zohreh Vatankhah steps into the elevator on the fifth floor, takes it down to the ground floor, turns right and walks through a heavy steel door into the garage where her 2006 Toyota Corolla is parked. But this isn't your ordinary Toyota. It's a dented affair in pink, complete with a roll bar and bucket seats. She snaps on the seat belt, turns the ignition key and the engine roars to life, causing the hood to tremble like the membrane on a bass speaker. Not exactly the kind of car that would pass inspection for driving on the roads in most Western countries. Then she puts the pedal to the metal and her pink car shoots out of the garage, tires screeching. The janitor sweeping the courtyard stares after her, his mouth agape. Vatankhah inserts Christina Aguilera's latest album into the cassette player and drums her fingers to the beat on the steering wheel. She drives toward the bazaar in downtown Tehran, crosses a bridge and passes graffiti instructing passersby to "Destroy Israel" and a poster of a burning American flag. Five minutes later Vatankhah is stuck in a traffic jam -- nothing short of torture for a person who loves driving as much as she does. Speed is her profession. Vatankhah is a professional racecar driver. In Iran, of all places -- where the profession is not only dominated by men, but also practically owned by them. . . . Iran is a country in which women have been considered second-class citizens since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. In a court of law, a woman's testimony is worth only half as much as that of a man, and sons inherit twice as much as daughters. Women are not permitted to sing or dance in public, or even ride a bicycle. They cannot travel without a man's permission. A man can forbid his wife from working, and if he catches her with another man, he can kill her without fear of punishment. Wearing a headscarf is mandatory, while the chador, or full-body veil, is preferred. Vatankhah is the embodiment of sin for Iran's religious fundamentalists and radical mullahs, but for the country's urban youth she is a vision. She reflects the kind of country the children of Iran's upper and middle classes want to be living in: modern and self-confident, embracing life and cosmopolitan. . . . The ayatollahs can't stand her 'cause she walks looks and drives like an ace now She makes the Dubai 500 look like a Roman chariot race now The mullahs try to catch her but she leads them on a wild goose chase now And she'll have fun fun fun 'til they take her Toyota away Photos at the link -- she's attractive, classy, bold (in every sense), likes fast cars, and knows how to drive a stick. May God watch over her, both on and off the track. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #3 Vatankhah inserts Christina Aguilera's latest album into the cassette player There's your problem right there... |
| Posted by: Raj 2008-01-17 20:33 |
| #2 Try this link. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-01-17 18:43 |
| #1 The link didn't work for me for some reason. I googled her name, and it appears that her REAL name is Laleh Seddigh: this blogger has photos, and complains that the reporter confused her with someone else. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2008-01-17 18:38 |