Shahanara Begum and her cultural revolution

It is a rare sight indeed to see a Muslim woman on a bike and I endeavour to make it not so! In 2008 the first Muslim women's riding club was set up in Jagonari Centre in Whitechapel where they trained local Muslim women to ride bikes.

As with all new changes there was some resistance to the idea of seeing Muslim women riding bikes by those within the community. I remember seeing the picture of a group of approximately 10 Muslim women posing with a bike in the local news paper at the time. The thing that struck me was that there were no pictures of a Muslim woman on her bike, that would have taken courage to do.

Having no interest in learning to drive a car it left me with the option of walking long distances, relying on my husband for lifts or using the slow and difficult public transport system. I needed an alternative.

I decided my alternative form of transport would be a motor scooter; small, convenient and cost effective. But there was a catch; I didn't know how to balance it as I had never ridden a bike! It was time to learn to ride a bike.

My son's birthday was around the corner so I bought a bike for him, me and my husband together. My husband slightly concerned about how the local community would react to my riding used to take me out riding in the night. As with all changes there was the period of fear and mental anguish from the point of decision, to implementation and the initial backlash from the community. The night rides became quiet park rides, then busy park rides and eventually roads. I had a mission: to become an independent traveller.

I had got the basics of it, but needed to practice more to be confident on the roads. I kept practicing and practicing, the women in the park sometimes sneered, stared, spoke jeeringly or smiled, but often just ignored me. I was pleased to find one Somalian young woman riding a child's borrowed bike once so we raced together, but otherwise it was lonely riding on my own going round and round the park. That's when I decided to make it my mission to get more Muslim women riding. I shouldn't feel uncomfortable riding a bike and other Muslim women shouldn't feel uncomfortable to do the same either. ?

My children's school in the heart of the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets where I am a Parent Governor had recently won funding to run a bike club for women and the cycle instructor invited me to go along for visibility and moral support as they had failed to attract any Muslim women to the club. I was very nervous as I didn't feel ready to face all the parents at the school gates on my bike, I knew there would be a backlash.

However, I got over the fear of facing the community and went round with my bike. I rode around with the women learning to ride bikes and they appreciated my support, especially when I told them I was just like them wobbling on my bike a few weeks ago. There were of course no Muslim women to witness my riding as they went home after bringing in the children. I needed to come to the school gates on my bike when they were there. ?

Some of the Bangladeshi schoolgate mums didn't even bother to hide their disgust at my coming to collect the kids from school by bike. But after the third week of my presence a grand total of six Bangladeshi women signed up to take riding lessons! The biggest surprise of this whole experience has been that I mainly faced disapproval from the women in my community and not the men who seemed to be surprised and impressed at the novelty of a Muslim woman riding. The odd looks, snide remarks and chattering only strengthened my resolve further that things needed to change and I needed to be the catalyst for that change. ?

Breaking a deeply embedded social convention is an ambition that is impossible to the point that it would be considered laughable. But I won't let others mirth stop me from my ambition to get Muslim women cycling. I have qualified as a Ride Leader with the hopes of setting up a Muslim women's riding club, or working with an already established one.

I am visible on my big pink bike and use it to commute everywhere; I believe other Muslim women will come out and join me and the effect will snowball. My bike doesn't have horse power; it runs on girl power and each revolution of my cycle wheel brings us closer to a girl power revolution.

Shahanara Begum