Photo Courtesy: Meesha Shafi, @itsmeeshashafi
LAHORE: The famed city of gardens on Sunday was lit up with dozens of women taking to Lahore’s roads in the ‘Women on Wheels’ march that bids to reclaim public spaces and independence for women.
Under the scheme, the Punjab government gifted 70 women with motorcycles, who then took these motorcycles for a ride from Al-Hamra hall to Egerton Road in Garhi Shahu.
Punjab minister for excise, taxation, and narcotics control, Mian Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman handed out the bikes in a ceremony that culminated in the rally.
The event was made all the more remarkable with individuals such as rights activists Nighat Dad and actress Meesha Shafi gracing the event with their presence.
“You will now see more women on bikes in the coming days,” Ms. Dad claimed.
Meesha Shafi, moreover, tweeted her elation at attending the event along with Khadija Siddiqi, the survivor of a brutal stabbing, and who has come to represent Pakistani women’s struggle against patriarchy, and Zenith Irfan, who rode her motor cycle through Pakistan’s scenic but intimidating mountains.
Star struck 🤩 with these two superheroes! Survivor of a brutal stabbing @khadeeeej751 and real life #MotorcycleGirl #ZenithIrfan today at the #WomenOnWheels Lahore rally! #WOW #ZenithIrfan #KhadijaSiddiqi you girls have ALL MY ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tr63o2q1gj
— MEESHA SHAFI (@itsmeeshashafi) May 13, 2018
What a liberating experience! Riding with these amazing women at the #WOW #WomenOnWheels rally today! Did somebody say I fled to Canada? LOL 😂
This is Egerton Rd Lahore ✌🏼❤️💥 pic.twitter.com/k8YmaBURfY— MEESHA SHAFI (@itsmeeshashafi) May 13, 2018
Rights activist Nighat Dad also tweeted her delight at the rally and claimed that this development would herald a new found sense of development for women in Pakistan.
Aj buhat khush noon! Women are reclaiming their roads now. It’s not only a freedom of physical mobility but also a new found sense of freedom of movement. #womenOnWheels #WOW #HamariSadkain #ItsABeginning pic.twitter.com/oMCECtTnjN
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) May 13, 2018
The move is indeed very symbolic since women in Pakistan have historically been confined to private spaces, and their presence in public is generally frowned upon.
