Mahela Arestamani: The Female Racer X?
We have come a long way from the time when women were given a defined set of roles that were considered acceptable for them. The time when no one could dream of a woman standing shoulder to shoulder with her male counterpart. The age of women has come!
Indeed now, you see them constantly breaking all barriers of conformity, stereotypes and venturing into unchartered territory. It would not be so farfetched to say that today; women are giving men a good run for their money.
Women have proven themselves in all fields. Be it business, politics or science, they have come to be recognized as a force to be reckoned with and now they have begun to work their magic even in the world of sports. One such force is 23-year-old Mahela Arestamani.
Mahela, a young marketing executive in Dubai, is the only Muslim woman in the world to have a Formula One driving license! She is also the only woman on the UAE race team. Not only is the young woman a credit and much welcome addition to ranks of women in sports, but she is also a breath of fresh air in times when Muslim Women are constantly portrayed as helpless and oppressed.
Her achievements seem even more momentous when one considers the fact that in neighbouring Saudi Arabia women are not even allowed to drive. Mahela admits that she still is criticized for her decision to race, as men see it as her defying culture and tradition. “This is what I have been telling them. I am not insulting the culture or the tradition because I’m wearing the shayla, I’m wearing the abaya. Even when I’m wearing overalls and the helmet my hair doesn’t show so I’m not insulting the tradition” she said during an interview with BBC 2.
Where, on the one hand, Mahela has to face men, who object to her racing seeing it as against Muslim culture, on the other hand she confesses to meeting many men on the road who want to race her while she drives around the roads of Dubai in her Ferrari. The young Miss Mahela spent years saving a whooping amount of 200,000 pounds for the Ferrari that she currently owns.
The female Racer X admits to enjoying the surprised looks and all the attention she gets while she whooshes past men on the road, at speeds of up to 140 km per hour. “Sometimes the guys are trying to stop me from racing; they’re like what are you doing? Slow down, you’ll kill yourself!” laughs the 23 year old, recounting some of responses she gets while on the road.
Despite the uniqueness of what she does, Mahela has not gotten any coverage besides a brief 2-minute interview with BBC 2 for their new show Women in Black. The show aims to remove the widespread stereotypes and misunderstandings associated with the way the world sees Muslim women.
The internet is practically devoid of Mahela and her achievements except one odd video of the BBC 2 program on YouTube, which leads us to wonder if the world really is all that open to women and their achievements. Alternatively, we might still be stuck in the dark ages where young, independent and daring women like Mahela are refused the opportunity of leaving their mark on the world.
The Middle Eastern Driver has yet to compete in a Formula One major event. It remains to be seen whether the youngster will give the sport a new direction or will have limited success in the circuit like her fellow female racers. As far as we are concerned, we wish Mahela the best for her racing career and promise to keep our ears and eyes open for more news on her.
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