Islamabad: Two young girls from Rawalpindi, Islamabad’s crowded twin city, are biking their way to freedom, breaking pre-conceived barriers and empowering Pakistani women.
“The joy I find in exploring the city on my scooty has made me independent and confident enough to travel anywhere,” Sana Shakoor, the Pakistani scooty girl, told Gulf News.
Sana and her friend, Afra Hussain, both in their early 20s, have earned the title of Rawalpindi’s ‘Scooty Girls’ as they are blazing the trail for a new form of travel among women.
Sana first bought the Japanese scooty four years ago for about Rs67,000 (Dh1,585) so that she could reach university on time. “It was the best decision,” she says as it has made her life and commutes much easier. “Now, I don’t have to depend on anyone for my travels. I save the time that spent waiting for the public buses that always arrived overcrowded. Now I just pick up my keys and go zoom zoom,” she said. Bike is a much convenient option in a congested city like Rawalpindi with a population of more than 2 million.
Bikes are economical and empowering
Sana and Afra have both completed their degrees from Fatima Jinnah Women’s University where they also inspired many girls with their shiny black bike. “More women in Rawalpindi are now riding bikes, which is inspiring,” says Afra. It’s not just about being independent, but bikes, especially lightweight scooties, are the most affordable and convenient mode of transport for all, especially women. “It is also easy on the pocket. I travel all week on Rs100 petrol. Hard to believe, right?” Sana said.
But what about the social pressure — what will people say — and the stigmas associated with women riding bikes? “People ask that all the time. But in all honesty, we have never had a bad experience. We never felt harassed. In fact, we feel safer and empowered than ever,” Afra, 21, added.
For the biker girls, support from their families and self-confidence played a major role in living their dream. But the stars are not aligned for everyone. There are regions where cultural barriers, safety issues and street harassment can limit bike travels — but the girls are hopeful it is about to change. “As more girls choose bikes as means of transportation, it will help diminish the stigma around biking and reduce barriers to education and work,” she says.
Recently, a motorbike training programme called ‘Women On Wheels’ was launched in Pakistan under which 5,000 women from poor households were trained in Lahore city while they aim to teach at least 10,000 women in the Sindh province. The initiative aims to encourage more women to work in a country where females comprise of half of the population but only account for 22 per cent of the workforce.
Scooty Girls become Vloggers to inspire girls and travellers
Besides inspiring the girls in their neighbourhood and university, they are also documenting their travels on Instagram and YouTube channel named ‘Scooty Girls’. They recently did a test drive by riding up to Monal cafe in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills situated at a height of about 1,170 metres. “If we can do Monal, we can certainly travel further up north to Naran and Kaghan Valley on scooty,” Sana says exuding confidence. For now, their videos only covered Islamabad and Rawalpindi, but travelling all across Pakistan on the scooty and vlogging about the journey is what the girls are planning next.
“Our biggest motivation behind making the videos is to break the stigma around girls travelling alone in Pakistan and also to show magnificent natural beauty of Pakistan to encourage more people to travel,” Sana told Gulf News.
In Pakistan, women usually depend on their fathers, brothers and husbands for travels. “We want to change the stereotype. With our videos, we want to tell the girls that they can travel on their own and tell the world that Pakistan is a safe place for women travelling independently” Afra said.
