Macho ride to show who ‘real’ men are

“The response of male riders also has been encouraging,” says Yazarloo, adding she wants to remind boys who idolize men riding these bikes that to respect women is the only way of being a real man. The Pune ride will be kicked off on March 8 at Amanora. Yazarloo who has the highest mileage on road amongst women in India on a Harley — over 50000 so far — is part of the Pune chapter of Harley Davidson biker. She took up the initiative along with male riders. The ride would focus on telling young boys that it was not macho to misbehave with women, she said.

Young and impressionable boys consider Harley cool and most would love to own one. In the riding initiative, being “cool” would mean being a man and being a man would mean respecting women, Anaida Parvaneh, a strong supporter of the group, said.

The theme was significant, due to increasing assaults on women, rape and harassment. Real men respect women and will not only refuse to tolerate any disrespect and violence towards women but also intervene protect them, Parvaneh said.