RONÎDA HACÎ

Hasekê – People say “Only men can ride motorcycles” but 37-year-old Sebah Nasir has broken this bias by riding her motorcycle for 10 years… She has sold vegetables and fruits in Hasekê city of NE Syria to stand on her own feet despite bias. In order to provide a better future for herself and her children, Sebah rides her motorcycle as if she waged war on society.

“I change bias”

An Arab woman, Sebah Nasir lives in the Xishman Neighborhood of Hasekê city. “Women are not accepted to do such job Arab society,” Sebah said, “I have struggled for 10 years and I have managed to change this bias. She called her motorcycle, “My breadwinner” and began to talk about her life. She sells vegetables and fruits by visiting neighborhood to neighborhood on her motorcycle. After the civil war broke out in Syria, Sebah also suffered from poverty and her life became more difficult. But she found a way to stand on her own feet: selling vegetables… “At least, my children are not hungry,” Sebah told us.

“Nothing can block you if you have determination”

Sebah Nasir told us how she decided to do this job; “When I got married, our financial situation was not good at all. My husband couldn’t find a job. I wanted to do something. But I had to struggle with social taboos. After deciding to work, I tried to break the bias, “A woman cannot work”. And I bought this motorcycle to work. Nothing can block you if you have determination. I have done this job for 10 years and I am economically free.”

Sebah thinks all women can be successful

Sebah said she learned a lot of things by doing this job. She believes that all women can be successful. “Women are the creators of life, they build a life,” Sebah said, “A society that does not embrace the role of women in life is a reactionary society. Women, who saw me riding the motorcycle, took courage from me. They looked for ways to stand on their own feet. They also work now. I guess they needed someone to pioneer, it was me. If you think about what other people will think about you, you will never do anything. All women can be successful.”

“I teach my children”

Sebah understands everything about her motorcycle, in her words, “Her breadwinner”. She repairs it when it breaks down. Sebah teaches her daughter Zeynep everything she has learned from life. “I repair my motorcycle whenever it breaks down. I take my daughter Zeynep with me to teach her what I have learned. I tell her to struggle against “Shames” in the society. I don’t want my children to be victims of taboos in society. My financial condition is good now; I earn a livelihood and cover expenses of my children’s education.”