Contact details
Email: wima.uae[at]gmail.com
Instagram: WIMA UAE
About WIMA UAE
WIMA United Arab Emirates was founded in 2019. It is very important to us to be part of the most prestigious and historic association to empower women riders globally.
The Women Riders World Relay (WRWR) was a turning point, where we joined global lady bikers to do the relay. This was the first time we did something on that scale and it felt very empowering. We had ladies travelling from Canada, Australia, UK, Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia etc to join us in Dubai. We hosted our WRWR final destination party beneath the amazing Burj Khalifa and the media coverage of this event was amazing. All of this hard work and dedication is adding to our legacy in the Middle East to empower more ladies to explore motorcycling.
WIMA UAE plans to work with all major motorcycle brands in the UAE, as well as motorcycle organizations such as FIM to better understand how we can work together to promote and support female riders. There are many groups and clubs here and often we aren’t aware of what the other groups are doing. I foresee WIMA UAE creating that umbrella of awareness and support needed among female motorcycle riders and enthusiasts here so that we can increase our support across the community.
Many women here have noted not seeing a strong female presence at events, whether attending mixed gender events, female biking initiatives, entering a competition or cheering them on as they compete. To know we are supported and understood is of the utmost importance. We must stay the course with our sisters by showing up in the good times, showing up during the difficult times, and showing up even when we are the only ones there. We are not alone. We are strong. We are one.
Internationally, WIMA UAE is excited to welcome international women riders and to partner with other WIMA divisions to organize riding events here in the UAE as well as abroad.
Notable Members
Lara Tarabay, Founder
Lara Tarabay was the first ever Arabic WIMA President and she said “to bring the concept to the Middle East is very rewarding, because it anchors my vision of enabling ladies in our region to feel empowered by being connected to other lady bikers through an international association.”
Lara has now left the UAE to pursue life elsewhere and the division closed down for a while, but she told us this “The girls ride different bike brands and different models and we want to experiment with off-road bikes as a group. Dubai is a very cosmopolitan city in the UAE: our group currently has the following nationalities: Lebanese, Saudi, Bahraini, Russian, Moroccan-French, Jordanian, Lebanese, UAE national and Palestinian. I would say female riders are still emerging in the UAE; there are a good number of riders but still a modest number. We have in our group a lady from Saudi who had to come to Dubai to get her rider’s licence, as it was still not allowed in Saudi. Eventually, due to Covid-19, she went back to Saudi and she has just finished one of the local Saudi tours.”
Katarina Corcoran, President since 2022
I am honored to be the national president for WIMA UAE as we promote the recognition of and support for female riders in UAE. The number of women riders locally continues to increase and there is a tremendous amount of opportunity here to unite women riders and encourage females of all ages in motorcycling. WIMA UAE will be in contact with multiple women’s groups ranging from motocross and enduro groups, track and sport bike groups to Harley Owners Groups and the International Female Ride Group UAE (IFR UAE).
