By Mubasher Bukhari
LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Laiba Rashid, 22, a Pakistani scholar, hopes her life will change as soon as she learns to trip a motorbike after finishing a coaching program that teaches ladies to trip two-wheelers within the bustling metropolis of Lahore within the east of the nation.
Regardless that this system has been operating for 7 years, it’s uncommon to see ladies using bikes. Ladies who drive automobiles or trip two-wheelers pushed by a male family member are extra socially acceptable on this conservative Islamic nation.
“I hope this can change my life as a result of I rely upon my brother to choose me up and drop me off at college,” Rashid instructed Reuters on his first day on the Ladies on Wheels (WOW) driving program supplied freed from cost by Lahore Visitors Police. .
She stated she wished to purchase a motorbike to go to varsity, including that earlier than, there have been no feminine drivers in her household. “Now everyone seems to be satisfied that ladies should be unbiased of their entry to highschool, work and markets,” she stated.
Ladies using two-wheelers is a cultural and non secular taboo, stated Bushra Iqbal Hussain, a social activist and director of Secure Childhood, a company that advocates for the security of woman kids.
However extra ladies at the moment are altering the tradition, she says, as they did within the Nineteen Eighties with common automobiles, in an effort to cut back their dependence on males for transportation.
The WOW program has been working since 2017, however has grow to be more and more well-liked in latest months as automotive costs have soared and bikes provide a less expensive different.
“Stagnant wage development and excessive inflation have eroded the buying energy of the center class, leaving bikes as the one viable possibility for a lot of households,” stated Muhammad Abrar Polani, an auto trade analyst on the firm. Arif Habib Funding Restricted.
The most cost effective four-wheeler in Pakistan, the place the annual GDP per capita is $1,590, prices about 2.3 million rupees ($8,265), in contrast with about 115,000 rupees for probably the most reasonably priced two-wheeler. made in China.
Sohail Mudassar, a visitors policeman, stated the WOW program has educated not less than 6,600 ladies and Rashid’s group was the 86th since its launch.
“Ladies of various ages and segments of society are becoming a member of our camp,” stated Humaira Rafaqat, a senior visitors coach who has educated round 1,000 ladies. “Younger ladies study shortly as a result of they’re enthusiastic and take dangers.”
One in all them, Ghania Raza, 23, who’s pursuing a doctorate in criminology, stated studying to trip a two-wheeler gave her a deep sense of accomplishment and empowerment: “It was like breaking a glass ceiling,” she stated.
Shumaila Shafiq, 36, a mom of three and part-time dressmaker, stated she rode her husband’s bike to the market and different locations after graduating from this system.
She designed a particular quick abaya, a gown utilized by conservative Muslim ladies, to put on whereas using a motorbike.
“Carrying an extended, free abaya poses dangers as a result of it may well get tangled within the wheels,” she stated, including that she plans to market the model to different equestrians.
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