Women’s cycling rally cancelled in Peshawar. It's been 14 years since we haven't moved an inch

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2019-02-04T09:42:24+05:00

Ailia Zehra

Transcript:

Few days ago, a women’s bicycle rally was scheduled to be held

in Peshawar but it had to be cancelled because

Jamaat Islami and JUI-F people threatened to protest against it

They apparently believe that women riding bicycles

is somehow a threat to their Islam

I remember another rally was cancelled in 2005

at a university in Gujranwala because of the same reason

Asma Jahangir then organized a marathon in Lahore

against the cancellation, and the religious fanatics

It was a women’s marathon,

though also attended by male activists

The main point behind holding marathon was

that these religious fanatics couldn’t be given the right

to decide whether women can go out or not

Pervez Musharraf was ruling Pakistan at the time

Police did a severe crackdown on the occasion

and many people were arrested at the marathon

Asma Jahangir herself was arrested

but the marathon went on

It wasn’t stopped and it was a success

A very strong message was sent against religious fanatics

and people who try to dictate women’s presence at public spaces

The same question was under discussion at the time

whether women should be allowed

to lead a bicycle rally or not

But it was 2005 and now it’s 2019

And if we’re still discussing the same question

then we’re probably not progressing as a society

in terms of women empowerment

We need to get out of that phase now

where we discussed whether

women should have this right or not

Women should have this right, and they have it

Right to mobility is a fundamental right

And it is not gender specific

So we need to raise our voice against these people

who want to obstruct women empowerment in the name of Islam