JO: Ladies Who Rally

by Tanja Habjouqa
JO Magazine

The Speed Sisters, the Middle East’s first all-female racing team, have gained a high level of attention in their short existence. But for all the approving press, it’s a trial to succeed

BETTY SAADEH PULLS ON her aviator shades to block out the hordes of male fans as she edges her souped-up, candy-apple red Volkswagen Golf GTI toward the start line at the track in Jericho. Earnest prepubescent kids with peach-fuzz mustaches stare through the tinted windows in amazement as she purses her lips, applies lipstick, and fluffs her blonde hair.

The championship of autocross racing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is in full swing, with thousands of men of all ages covering every available space on the makeshift track, from water towers, aluminum roofs, to broken fences. Just outside the course, an Israeli watchtower looms up to mark the separation of Jericho from the Jordanian border. The final race of 2011 is going out with a bang, replete with nationalistic symbols of both the Palestinian Authority and the visiting Jordanian team. “Wein Al Ramallah” alternates with “Hashemi, Hashemi” when Jordanian racers take the track, with a little Black Eyed Peas sprinkled in.

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Read the full article and see the photos: http://www.jo.jo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2398:ladies-who-rally&catid=42:world&Itemid=159