Ver vídeo

• Speed Sisters, el primer equipo de rally femenino

by Mark Philips

On the starting line of the Emirates Motorplex on Thursday (Jan 24) will be professional drift racing, one of the most dangerous disciplines in motorsport.

And amid the petrol fumes and testosterone will be a 23-year-old Palestinian woman, Noor Daoud.

Daoud, who had previously been invited to compete in a Formula 3 – a different discipline of motor racing – race in Israel, is the first Arab woman to compete on the international motorsport circuit.

She has spent two months in the United Arab Emirates training for the Drift UAE race on January 24, and will then go on to other international races in Japan and Poland.

Drifting is a driving technique, born in Japan, in which the driver intentionally oversteers, causing the rear wheels to skid, while maintaining control of the car.

“It’s a big race and all the international people will be there. I’m the first Arab girl to race in it, so it’s huge for me,” said Daoud.

[...]

Read the full article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/24/world/meast/speed-sisters-palestinian-motor-racing/index.html

The world of rally driving, long a testosterone-fuelled arena where skill and courage are tested to the max, is opening up to women. The Speed Sisters are the only female racing team in the Middle East and they are gaining more respect.

Link TV
http://news.linktv.org/videos/palestinian-speed-sister-racers-wow-middle-east

USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/sports/2013/01/03/middle-east-speed-sisters-drive-for-pride/1807051/

Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/video/middle-east-speed-sisters-drive-172729187.html

Lycos Video
http://video.lycos.com/video/view/middle-east-speed-sisters-drive-for-pride-g5047597/

In the macho world of howling engines, burning rubber and men of action on Jordan’s Red Sea Coast, one racing team doesn’t quite fit.

Drivers from across Arabia descend on Aqaba for its annual street rally – a test of skill, and courage fuelled by high octane testosterone.

Racing for the first time since the Palestinians’ status was upgraded to a non-member observer state in a near-unaminous UN vote are the Speed Sisters – an all-female Palestinian team.

Noor from Ramallah, Betty from Bethlehem, and Mara from Jenin are the only female racing team in the conservative Middle East.

After crushing her thick, black mane into a crash helmet, Noor hit the circuit. Young men and women screw their heads from side to side as she drifts a borrowed BMW around car tyre obstacles.

The crowd cheers as she manages to give the thumbs up using the other hand to spin through 360 degrees.

The port city is happy to give her the R.E.S.P.E.C.T she demands. Indeed they lap it up. But it hasn’t always been easy.

[...]

Watch the video and read the full article:

Sky News
http://news.sky.com/story/1032761/palestinian-speed-sisters-winning-respect

LBC
http://www.lbc.co.uk/palestinian-speed-sisters-winning-respect-65267

Ainda que a improvisada pista de corridas na Universidade de Istiklal, em Jericó, esteja lotada, não se vê nenhuma mulher entre a multidão. O ambiente exala testosterona. No entanto, isso não parece afetar as “Speed Sisters”, que competem neste campeonato local de carros de corrida e esperavam a vez para sair “queimando pneu”.

As quatro palestinas, muçulmanas e cristãs, estão dando o que falar na Cisjordânia, para o bem e para o mal. Entre 21 e 31 anos, o sonho delas é competir em corridas profissionais. O troféu máximo seria a Fórmula 1, contam. “Como corremos há bastante tempo, as pessoas já se acostumaram, embora ainda haja gente que não goste. Pensam que não é lugar de mulher, acham perigoso”, explica ao Opera Mundi Mona Ennab, enquanto espera a vez ao lado do carro, adornado com listras vermelhas.

Ela conta que, no começo o pai se opôs à ideia, mas logo percebeu que esse era seu sonho. A família o acompanhou na decisão. “Mas ainda há muitas pessoas que nos criticam, inclusive com insultos”, diz Mona. “Acredito no que faço. Por meio da corrida reivindico os direitos das mulheres palestinas, o direito de decidir sobre sua vida”, completa a jovem, vestindo um ajustado macacão laranja e preto.

As “Speed Sisters” são a primeira equipe feminina de carros de corrida do Oriente Médio. Ainda que existam outras mulheres árabes no esporte, nenhuma obteve tanto destaque na mídia. “Somos uma raridade. Temos muitos fãs entre os homens também. Para eles há o ingrediente erótico: quatro mulheres usando macacões e dirigindo em alta velocidade”, ri Mona.

[...]

Read the full article:
http://operamundi.uol.com.br/conteudo/reportagens/25105/sobre+quatro+rodas+speed+sisters+palestinas+desafiam+machismo+.shtml

Cuatro mujeres palestinas desafían a la sociedad patriarcal y conforman el primer equipo femenino de carreras de coches en todo Medio Orientes; son las ‘Speed Sisters’ y esperan se les unan otras participantes.

Las carreras de coches en Cisjordania están de moda, ya sea improvisando circuitos en parkings o compitiendo a nivel regional, este deporte va ganando terreno en los territorios palestinos.

Y con él, un grupo de mujeres, que desafiando a la sociedad patriarcal, van escalando posiciones y quemando rueda. Se trata de las “Speed Sisters”, el primer equipo femenino de carreras de coches de todo Oriente Medio, que animan a más mujeres palestinas a unirse a ellas y “quemar rueda” en los circuitos de carreras.

“Deberían venir, porque al principio estaba yo sola y ahora somos cuatro ya, e incluso puede que seamos más, y ahora esperamos poder ir a la Fórmula 1 después de esto”, dice Mona Ennab, piloto de Speed Sisters.

[...]

Read the full article and watch the video:
http://noticierostelevisa.esmas.com/especiales/515582/speed-sisters-palestinas-desafian-reglas/

A Ramallah en Palestine, les Speed Sisters font cramer de la gomme en Territoires occupés. Rodéos à la lisière de la ville, “donuts” endiablés et courses contre la montre sous le soleil écrasant de Jéricho… les Inrocks se sont glissés dans le coffre pour un reportage au pas de charge.

مع أن الشابة ميسون الجيوسي تعمل مساعدة إدارية في هيئة الأمم المتحدة لإغاثة وتشغيل اللاجئين (الأنروا) في القدس، وتمتلك متجراً لبيع الملابس النسائية (بوتيك) في مدينة رام الله، إلا أنها تقود منذ عامين فريقاً نسوياً لسباقات السيارات (الرالي) بات يحظى بشهرة على مستوى عربي ودولي، ليس فقط على المستوى المحلي، ويعرف باسم «سبيد سسترز».

ويضم الفريق فتيات من مختلف المدن الفلسطينية، أبرزهن مرح زحالقة من جنين وحصلت على بطولة فلسطين قبل عامين، وبيتي سعادة من بيت لحم والمولودة في المكسيك، ونور داود الفلسطينية المولودة في الولايات المتحدة وقضت سنوات من عمرها في بودابست، ومنى عناب من مدينة البيرة، وهديل جرادات من الخليل وتدرس الهندسة الميكانيكية في جامعة بيرزيت قرب رام الله.

Read the full article (AR):
http://alhayat.com/Details/437823

New documentary leaves stereotypes trailing in the dust

FOR AMBER FARES, making a film about Palestinian female racecar drivers is an opportunity to challenge multiple misconceptions. “A lot of stories that come out of Palestine are the same story,” she says. “It’s a story about occupation, and it’s a very valid story, but I think this really gives people an opportunity to see another side of Palestine, a side that’s not often shown.” Fares, a Canadian-Lebanese filmmaker, is the director of the upcoming feature-length documentary Speed Sisters, named after the Arab world’s first all-female racing team, whom Fares has been filming since 2010.

“It’s another side of Arab women – who are not necessarily covered, who are not overly religious. It shows an aspect of women in the Arab world which is rarely ever seen,” Fares explains.

[...]

Read the full article:
http://www.rollingstoneme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1892