Women pedal for 'girl power' in Pakistan
2013-03-08 19:58
Islamabad - A group of determined women took to bikes on Friday,
riding through the Pakistani capital to highlight their rights and love of
exercise in a culture that often treats them as second-class citizens.
Some wearing helmets, others in headscarves, dressed in
jeans or in the loose dresses traditional in Pakistan, the group navigated the
leafy streets with colourful balloons tied to their handlebars, past baffled
police and security guards.
To mark International Women's Day in a country where
women are rarely seen on a bike, they set out from Kohsar market, a collection
of upmarket coffee shops, to the city's landmark Faisal Mosque set in the
Margalla Hills.
"The point is that women have the right to ride a
bicycle. We are just having girl power here," said charity worker Masoora
Ali, 30.
"I remember when I was little I used to ride a bicycle
quite openly but... when I was growing up and I was at school or college I was
told not to do it publicly because it is not acceptable in society," she
added.
Pakistan does not ban women riding bikes, but it is rare
even in Islamabad where driving is less erratic than on the traffic-choked
streets of the two biggest cities, Karachi and Lahore.
