International Women’s Day: On the road with The Litas Dubai female-only motorcycle club

The group is the epitome of empowerment, challenging preconceptions and shunning judgement

If you’re out early enough on a Friday morning, chances are you’ll see them. Up and down the country hundreds of motorbike enthusiasts congregate (socially distanced in these times of course) to celebrate what is one of the most individualistic forms of transport together. Often dressed in matching vests with club affiliation patches, nine times out of ten these groups of freedom-loving freewheelers heading out on their long rides in the cool dewy breeze happen to be men, occasionally accompanied by a smattering of female company. If you’re lucky, though, you may just pass The Litas Dubai: a women-only MC collective who have been tearing up the so-called ‘rule book’ since 2017. Are they out to push boundaries? A bit. Do they wish to smash pre-conceived notions of what it means to be a ‘biker’? A lot of the time. Is it about having fun with like-minded people and being unhampered in your choice of hobby? Always.

For this International Women’s Day we spoke to The Litas members Lara Tarabay, Pearljeet Kaur, Widad and Sarah Abousaleh about being part of the sisterhood.

What made you form The Litas?

Lara: I started riding motorcycles in 2017 and I wanted to be part of a group. I wanted to be around women who are strong and adventurous. We started the group and one by one more women have been coming. The more we post about how incredible our group is, the more people want to join our family. There are no conditions. We always say we want newbies to be with us for three nights. If we find it is a good fit, they are with us forever. We have a great bond. We treat each other like sisters.

Widad: It’s not just bikes. There’s catching up for coffee, lunch, exercising, whatever you’re interested in.

Sarah: We all have different interests which brought us closer together. We spend time together outside biking. It’s a great way to meet friends.

What made you take up riding in the first place?

Pearljeet: I’m from Malaysia and everyone rides there. I have been doing it since the age of 16. I’m the only one in the group who has a sports bike. I’m like the Speedy Gonzales.

Sarah: Dad has been riding since he was 15 in Syria. He first took me when I was 14 years old. I loved it form then and completed my licence in 2019.

Widad: My journey started recently. I never dreamed in my life I’d be on two wheels. I just made a bucket list of things to do before 30 and thought I’d like to go on a ride. I didn’t know how to approach it at first. The riding groups can be intimidating. I managed to approach a group and ride pillion My first ride, I knew I didn’t want to be a passenger. I wanted to be in control. I did my licence as soon as possible and that was 2018.

What message do you believe an all-female riding group sends out?

Widad: What we do is very non-typical. To have the courage to do whatever you feel, no matter how extreme the activity, just do it. You never look back.

Lara: I wouldn’t say we’re breaking any stereotypes because we’ve been on the road for four years. We have met ladies from 50 countries doing what we do. But we are still seen as naïve when it comes to the technical side of our hobby. If you ask some gentlemen about something mechanical they just try to answer quick, like we don’t have the capacity to handle heavy knowledge. This is undermining. We are in this hobby for a reason and want to learn as much as we can. Being a group helps with this.

What else would you most like to see change in the motorcycle world?

Lara: We love pink but it doesn’t necessarily need to be everywhere on all our clothes. The motorcycling industry needs to give us some support with nice stylish things and they don’t have to be pink. They are missing out if they don’t address us.

Widad: No offence to pink but it’s a very limited selection. When I was riding my bike and I’d go to the store, I was buying men’s clothes because I wanted something branded but the women’s selection didn’t have anything I liked. Also as a covered woman I am not catered to in terms of merchandise. They need to listen.

Sarah: I had someone ask me once: ‘do you want to be a biker, or do you want to be a Muslim woman and a mother?’ Why can’t I be both? Just because you have a bike doesn’t make you are this out of control wild thing. We are doctors, we are engineers, we are nurses, we are mothers, sisters and daughters. I stop my bike to go and pray. We take our jobs and families seriously. I am in bed by 10pm! It’s a diverse world and people need to know that more. I am so happy, honoured and thankful to be part of the Litas and we can be who we want. I love them all very much.

What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

Pearljeet: Celebrating women hasn’t been a thing my whole life, but it has increased because I entered the oil and gas industry which is very male dominated. Travelling for work, I realised how much it means to be a woman around the world. People can take us for granted. It varies from place to place, but I learned I have to celebrate myself and other women. We’re never saying men shouldn’t be celebrated. They have a day too. But just for one day let’s all get behind each other.

Lara: I always say women are the leaders of leaders. We all came from a woman. If this is more accepted, women would be celebrated much more. All the leaders of the world come from women and those that bear them deserve at the very least one day.

Widad: Being covered, when I first started this, I struggled to see women who looked the same as me. Many covered women have a stigma that bike riders are a certain way. There is a personality attached which is completely untrue. The motorcycle industry tends to highlight one type of woman, which is quite narrow. As a woman in it, I know that’s not right. Celebrating International Women’s Day I would love to see all women from various religious backgrounds coming forward and wearing their symbols proudly and announcing these symbols don’t stop you doing any activity. I still see motorcycling as a sport and it’s unfair that it’s attached to this certain image. That needs to change.

What do you say to other women who are apprehensive about taking up biking?

Lara: There are women who still get self-conscious and I myself was one of them. As an Arabic woman, coming from a conservative Christian family, biking was seen as ‘too much’. People thought I wanted to be ‘out there’ just because I want to have a hobby. Because I am both a mother and a biker lady, people consider me to be extreme. I am just practicing my hobby. Don’t be afraid of the judgment. I want every diverse woman to come forward and say to everyone, push for what you deserve.

Pearljeet: I have been riding for years and when I came here people said, “no there’s too many men etc. etc”. That should not stop you! All you need to know is how to be comfortable on the road and, if you want, join a sisterhood like us. When I’m with these girls I feel safe.

Sarah: Join the group because it is like finding a new family. I never thought in a million years I would meet these different women. It was all because of biking. You find an array of personalities and beautiful minds you’d otherwise never have been connected to.