December 10, 2022
By Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE
In a historic first, women took to the streets in a cycle rally, riding in droves in the conservative tribal district of Khyber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The rally was preceded by a training camp held in Landi Kotal tehsil of district Khyber on December 8 & 9.
The event and training were organized by a Landi Kotal-based social activist and journalist Jamima Afridi. International cyclist, Samar Khan gave a training session to the other aspirants. Samar khan said that the environment in the tribal areas was different from what was perceived, and the tribal people are now ready to let their girls participate in similar healthy and productive activities.
Jamima informed that the girls had received permission from their families to take part, while some mothers came along too.
But despite parental consent, some right-wing groups have condemned the event and termed it a source of obscenity.
Jamima said that she has also received death threats after an organized hate campaign against her by the right-wing religious parties including Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl and the Jamaat-i-Islami.
However, she says she is unmoved by threats and vowed to arrange other such sporting events in the area for tribal girls so that they can compete in national and international events.