Ladies, Do You Get “Enjoyment” From…

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Being a guy, all I’ve ever gotten from sitting on a motorcycle seat for an extended period is a sore butt, but is it different for gals? What prompts the rhetorical inquiry is a story in today’s “Jakarta Globe” about backlash to a local regulation that’s about to be imposed in an Indonesian town. It will ban women passengers from straddling a motorcycle. They’ll have to ride side-saddle.

The reason for the proposed ban in the Muslim city? Well, the mayor wants to “save women from things that will cause them to violate Shariah law.” Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That women somehow derive more pleasure from riding than men.

In an earlier story, Lhokseumawe mayor Suaidi Yahya told the newspaper, “We have seen that people’s behaviors and morals are getting far from Aceh’s Islamic cultural values… We want to save them from things that will cause them to violate Shariah law.” (Aceh is a province in Indonesia.)

Another purpose of the regulation is to discourage women from wearing pants in public. The mayor further stated, “It will be easier for for women to avoid straddling motorcycles if all of them wear skirts.”

The proposed ban has been met with widespread criticism. Nonetheless, the mayor yesterday began distributing handouts in government offices and villages informing residents of the coming policy.

My first reaction was to laugh to the point of tears – until the lunacy of the oppressive regulation hit me. The story didn’t say, but does this mean that women are forbidden from operating motorcycles? I’m emailing the newspaper to inquire.

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More to read:

– The temperature may have only been four degrees but that didn’t stop some riders in Madison, WI from heading out on New Year’s Day. The “State Journal” has the story here.