About ten days ago, folks of Mumbra, Thane were greeted by a glorious vision, that of a huge group of school girls on pink cycles. The Thane Municipal Corporation had given cycles to these Class 8 girls to promote girls’ education. Parcham, a Thane NGO had trained many of the girls the previous week tor ride a cycle for the first time. On the day, local politicians and beaureaucrats talked about the girls’ right to education, their right to safety and their right to recreation. They urged the girls to “shed their inhibitions and to start cycling daily to school.” The 150 girls said ‘evs’ and rode away. Well, in our imagination, they said ‘evs’. They certainly rode away.

These pictures from the event remind us of all the stories about the women’s movement and cycling in Brainpickings. Our favourite line: “To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they knew in their work and play. To women, it was a steed upon which they rode into a new world.”

Wouldn’t it be great to see where these girls are a year from now?

Also Read: Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)

(Photos by Sabah Khan)