Kenya Has Held Its First All-Women Motorcar Racing Competition To Challenge Stereotypes
Breaking barriers in a sport dominated by men, Kenya has held its first all-women motorcar racing competition in the capital city of Nairobi.
Breaking barriers in a sport dominated by men, Kenya has held its first all-women motorcar racing competition in the capital city of Nairobi.
The Lionesses Rallying Club, an association inspiring women to break into motorsports, organized the championship at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani Rallying Track on March 27.
The race featured eight teams, all crews consisting of women.
Even the marshals, who ensure the safety of the race, were women.
26-year old driver Maxime Wahome and navigator Safina Khan won the race by a close margin of 13 seconds.
“If we have more rallies like this, we can get to having a World Championship Rally (WRC) of only women, but it takes a while,” Wahome said in response to the event.
Rally Joan Nesbitt, the clerk of the race, said she hopes more women will join the sport after the event and challenge stereotypes.
“I would like to see more women coming and joining as they have seen now it is not that hard. Everybody thought it was a big deal but it is actually not that hard,” Nesbitt told Reuters.
Organizers said they were surprised by the number of spectators and hope the inaugural race will attract women in Kenya to join motorsport.
Women are still a minority in motorsports worldwide. Opportunities for women to become mechanics, engineers, and drivers are also limited.
