LAHORE: Girls at Dhabas’ third annual “Girls on Bikes” rally will be held on Sunday (April 1). Concurrent rallies will be held in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad with participants asserting their right to public spaces through participation and occupying spaces in the city.
The rallies will depart from their respective meeting points i.e. McDonald’s at Tariq Road in Karachi, Siddique Trade Centre in Lahore and the Haunted Hill in Islamabad at 4:30 pm. Efforts have been made by the organisers to ensure that participants have access to bikes at affordable rates.
The event aims to highlight the experience of women in public and encourage them to venture into these spaces. Women’s mobility is integral to their economic well-being, social and political participation and capacity to enjoy the city space. Women and gender non-conforming individuals often face immense barriers when they access public transport or affordable transport such as bikes. The rally not only wishes to highlight these barriers, but also acknowledges that women are in fact present in these spaces—however, they are denied the visibility and security that is accorded to their male counterparts.
The Girls on Bikes rally hopes to bring together women from across different classes to manoeuvre through the cities and exercise their freedom of mobility. In its third year now, Girls on Bikes have injected joy into these rallies and challenged stereotypes that deem it inappropriate for a female or a gender non-conforming person to be out and about on their own.
