Cycle rally held to raise awareness about evil of street harassment

Although street harassment has become an alarming issue in Pakistan, no efforts have been made to collect or compile data on the incidents of harassment. There are many gendered aspects of street harassment that hurt the personal and social lives of women and perpetrators are most often not called-out.

In order to create awareness about street harassment, a Karachi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Aahung, held a cycle rally titled ‘Bikeathon’ on Sunday morning at 8am that started at Metropole Chowrangi and culminated at the Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim at 8:30am.

The purpose of the bike rally was to reclaim public spaces for women.

Aahung says it seeks to raise awareness regarding issues of gender and arouse collective conscience against the social evil of harassment.

Bikeathon was organised to draw attention to the issue and to enable girls and women to fight for their right to exist peacefully in public spaces without fear or threat to their autonomy.

Aahung’s media person Aamna said that cyclists, both men and women, from all over the city rode bicycles from Metropole to Bagh Ibn e Qasim, a park along Seaview.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheena Hadi, Aahung executive director, said harassment was an epidemic in Pakistan and needed to be highlighted so there was greater public awareness about it. She maintained that all acts of harassment were violations of women's rights.

“Through such campaigns, Aahung plays a pivotal role in helping girls and women gain the confidence and ability to lead a life safe from abuse, and make healthy and safe choices for themselves. They need to be equipped with the ability to recognise harassment and speak up when they are wronged or harmed,” she said.

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Director General Parks of Junaid Khan mentioned that it was great to have such a turnout in a public park where people from all walks of life joined on a beautiful Sunday morning to advocate for such a worthy cause.