Global Solidarity Ride celebrates Afghan women who risk riding bikes

Riding a bike is an activity taken for granted in Canada, but in Afghanistan women who ride face violent backlash and anger in their communities, says a cycling advocate.

Shannon Galpin, founder and president of Mountain2Mountain and the Global Solidarity Ride, is hosting a road ride in Pitt Meadows and a mountain bike ride in North Vancouver to show Afghan women that they have the support of the global cycling community.

"Being a female cyclist in Afghanistan is incredibly risky," Galpin told On The Coast's Stephen Quinn.

"They're harassed, rocks are thrown at them, they are targeted by motor vehicles. But also their honour is at risk, and the honour of their family for allowing their girl to ride a bike."

• Afghan girl, Tahera Karimi Hussain, graduates from Regina high school
• Afghans protest death of Farkhunda, woman killed by Kabul mob
• Kandahar to Carleton U.: Afghan woman's risky pursuit of education

Galpin says that the act of straddling a bike (or horse or motorcycle) is typically seen as obscene in Afghanistan. As well, the idea of women riding bikes is controversial because it allows women independent freedom of movement.

'One more piece of freedom' 

Galpin went to Afghanistan several years ago to explore the subjugation of women in that country. She worked primarily as an aid worker in the women's prison and helped to build a school for the deaf.

She was intrigued by the taboo against women riding bicycles, and began riding her own bike there to test what would happen.

"As a foreign woman, I got away with a lot more than a local women would," she said.

"What happened was the bike became an incredible icebreaker. It created roadside or trailside conversations that never would have happened with men had I been in a car or a more formalized setting."

Galpin calls the right to ride a bike "one more piece of freedom" for Afghan women, and says for equality to be recognized, it's important for women to be able to have the right to be able to travel safely on their own.

Celebrating strength and courage

Galpin hopes the solidarity ride will celebrate the strength and courage of Afghan women and to recognize them not as victims but as powerful advocates for their own independence.

She also says it's worthwhile celebrating the bike as an instrument of social justice.

"The bike was an integral part of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S., and it's interesting to see that playing out in real time in Afghanistan," she said.

To hear the full interview, click the audio labelled Afghan women risk harassment, assault for riding bikes