I would like to thank the two- wheeler industry of India for bringing equality subtly into the mainstream. Are you with me?
Look out on to the roads of any city today, even if they are pitted with potholes, what do you see?
Yes, yes, a sea of people creating traffic jams… but look deeper!
That’s right… behind those superman like cloaks, wrapped around the face (a dupatta actually) are women riders. My home town Ahmedabad has always boasted of more women drivers since ages. And I now see it in most cities I have travelled- statistically the women riders have increased on the road. Now before you bring on your PJs don’t you think its remarkable?
The house helps who would earlier reach their workplaces, on foot, sometimes walking miles and miles, to pinch a penny, are unabashedly arriving on their two wheelers. I was glad to notice them coming on bicycles but this transition to scooters and mopeds is a giant leap. Some are glamorously dropped off by their significant other with a gracious wave of their hand, a la Deepika of the Padukone fame. Imagine the change in their homes and the change in their lifestyle!
While traveling beyond my city and cruising on the smooth new roads which have mushroomed across the country, I noticed the increase in motorcycles plying on these roads. By their attire, the bags loaded along with women pillion riders, who mostly sat cross-legged, it was clear they were going about routine business rather than an exotic holiday.
These motorcycles navigate the not so smooth roads between smaller towns and villages efficiently. Thus, there are more people who can effectively reach their goals and destinations much more smoothly than ever before. The fuel efficiency is a dream come true.
Being lighter, we see more girls and women using a motorbike too. Well if that does not qualify for equality… you have a think coming. The heavy motorcycles of yester years required muscle power to handle the bikes when not being ridden, leading to the much popular image of a macho man wheeling and riding such a model. But now we have women also nurturing such dreamlike entries. A slow-motion video of a roaring bike with a ‘Dhurandhar rider’ their long hair flying in gay abandon, dark glasses perched on their nose, riding free!
Its great to see bike riders in the remotest part of our country. But what is heartening, is to see a couple of women riders in the group, roughing it along with the men.
For me that is society being just at the grass roots. And its only going to permeate into all other fields slowly but surreptitiously! What do you think?
This post is a part of ‘Echoes of Equality Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop series.
I’ve seen women plying on mopeds and bicycles for long in smaller towns. And now there are women delivering couriers too in many cities. It is surely good to see them mobile. And since women aren’t as crazy as men on the road, then less rage also.
Great observation! Thank you!
You’ve made bikes a great metaphor for equity. I see more females on two-wheelers in Kerala too these days. Seeing some of them on Bullets is quite a charming sight.
Thanks Tomichan! I agree, girls riding Motorcycles are smashing boundaries!
A refreshing perspective that celebrates equality not through slogans, but through the quiet revolution unfolding on India’s roads
Yes, and all revolutions that occur quietly but with complete focus… stay!
They will, they will permeate gradually and eventually. Oh God, this reminded me of my early moped days. My grandpa used to be so proud of me. With his chest swelling two inches wider he would proudly flaunt, “Aaj kal meri poti mujhe mandir aur doctor ke yaha lejati hain apni scooter par!” For me it was a tiny thing, a part of reducing his effort. But he would make me feel like a celeb. Thank you for this walk down memory lane.
So, you know it first hand! Every time I see girls zipping on their two wheelers, dressed in trendy clothes irrespective of where they come from, I feel someone is empowering them to do that… that is change! Not keeping them bound up, scared of what will others say.
Indeed. In Chennai, for the longest time, women always have always driven the two-wheelers. It has given them the freedom that they always wanted. And now, househelps arrive in scooties too. This is a huge advantage, and the automobile industry is making hay while the sun shines. At least one way where women are making themselves seen and taken seriously.
Its great to know this trend is going on in Chennai as well.
It’s inspiring to see how something as everyday as cycling can become a symbol of access and freedom. Good read!
Thanks Saadique! The gift of cycles to students… first carried out by Chief Minister Nitish in Bihar, retained students in school and had a direct impact on the literacy rate. A game changer!
I have always loved the sight of women confidently driving a car or riding a bike. What was once considered unusual is now becoming a common and empowering sight in every city. You have beautifully highlighted the concept of social equality through two-wheelers, long seen as symbols of masculinity,
You said it Pinki!
On my trip to Sikkim, a couple of years back I was glad to find so many women bikers taking trips up the steep roads. Yes this is a positive sign for equity.
Isn’t it? Makes us proud of them girls!
Yes, the first step towards self-dependence of women is the freedom to ride their vehicles. Two-wheelers have really brought about this freedom in girls and women in every city and town of the country.
Glad you agree!
Your post made me pause and think. Why did I never notice this before or its just so mainstream now that we fail to see the difference? I’ve had a scooty since my college days in the mid90s and it was absolutely normal. Never ride a bike though. Women bike riders make me feel so proud!
Exactly! I guess I have witnessed enough decades to note the change!
Never looked at it from that lens but now that you pointed it out it was so obvious. Yes, I’ve been seeing women from tier two and three cities using mopeds for long and that very much is equality on road and transport for sure.
Also the mass movement to wheels, especially two-wheelers!