Mahtab Ghiasi, 36, is the founder and leader of Yazd Banoo Cycling, a women’s club for bicycle riders in the city of Yazd, Iran. The desert city with its narrow alleys in the old center, has a historic tradition of cycling. Yet until fairly recently, only men were cycling. No law in Iran forbids women to cycle but conservative religious individuals and groups oppose fiercely, on the grounds of ‘provoking views of women’s butts’, and ‘having an object between the legs’. Mahtab has been a passionate cyclist by herself since childhood. Cycling is life and love, she says. It’s also good for health and for nature. She founded Yazd Banoo Cycling a year ago through Instagram, now counting over 600 members. She is a ferm advocate of sharing the management of her club, and continuously reaches out to other women’s clubs in Isfahan, Zahedan and Ahvaz.