Remember the ‘Women On Wheels‘ campaign back in 2014. This was one of the first campaigns encouraging women cyclists and bikers to hit the road. What started with 40 cyclists in Punjab is now making its way to Sindh, and then the rest of Pakistan
Originally, the project was an initiative of the government of Punjab. Within a year the number of female motorists with the campaign grew from 40 to thousands. By 2016 some 150 women motorcyclists rallied in Lahore to officially launch WoW.
All of them had completed training with the collaboration of Special Monitoring Unit on Law & Order and City Traffic Police. The Punjab Chief Minister’s SMU on Law and Order asserted the level of Punjab government’s participation in the initiative.
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As its success has grown and women in Punjab are made to feel confident riding motorbikes on roads, the project is being spread out to Sindh.
The current objective is to relaunch the ‘Women on Wheels‘ project all across Pakistan. Looks like they’re starting off with Sindh and calling for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s support on the matter.
In 2014 we launched #WomenOnWheels in #Punjab with just 40 women.
It grew to thousands within a year.
Relaunching the project in coming month to expand it all Over #Pakistan –
Hope to have support of @BBhuttoZardari sb for #Sindh pic.twitter.com/VF7FhS0vPC
— Salman Sufi (Get New Covid Booster Today) (@SalmanSufi7) October 10, 2019
In Punjab, the initiative covered training women to obtain motorcycle driving licenses, distribution of pink scooters and pushing for advocacy through civil society.
With the project relaunch nationwide, it has not yet been revealed if the measures for implementation will remain the same. Punjab government had prominent lawyer and activist Asma Jahangir on board to name a few public figures supporting the project.
This time around who will be selected to endorse the initiative.
Women on Wheels and Female Motorcyclists
When it comes to endorsing the safety and confidence of female cyclists, and motorcyclists the whole world struggles. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Transport and Health report found female cyclists are twice as likely to be abused or harassed on the roads than men in Britain.
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Meanwhile, the University of Minnesota discovered that male drivers are more likely to drive dangerously close to female cyclists.
In Pakistan where the culture is even less found of free movement of women, the stats are probably less desirable.
The purpose of WoW isn’t just to hand out motorcycles and training but to promote the acceptability of female bikers by popularizing women on wheels (literally).
