Four women. Four bikes. 10 countries. 10,000 km. The Biking Queens have truly set a landmark in not just bike riding but also empowerment of woman. These women from Surat embarked on a journey to spread the message of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’.
The Surat-based organisation has about 50 members. Founder Dr Sarika Mehta tells you: “The ASEAN landmass is one of the first to be connected by road. Over the course of 40 days, we travelled through 10 countries — India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, laos, vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore.”
Describing the journey and their experiences, Mehta and the other three women — Yugma Desai, Khyati Desai and Durriya Tapia — say that it was not merely a geographical path they traversed. Rather, it was a journey of introspection where they found out their strengths and the will to keep going despite the difficult conditions.
Food was definitely a problem for these vegetarians. Mehta says: “The locals were so friendly. Some of them let us use their kitchen to cook a basic meal. We had a lot of help. There were local NGOs with whom we worked to spread the message. Then the biking communities of the countries came forward to help us a lot. Even the Army helped us in many places.” She also tells you that when they reached Imphal, they had to stay in the Army barracks.
Biking is not a full-time occupation for any of these women. What drives them is their passion. This cross-country bike ride occurred after they undertook many rides within India, each with a mission, usually to spread awareness about women’s empowerment.
The women make time during weekends for these activities from their demanding careers. They often take their families along for these activities as well. Mehta, who is a psychologist as well as a mountaineer (currently pursuing the Seven Summits), says that this ensures that her children learn the values that she wants to spread.
The other women have equally demanding jobs. Yugma Desai heads an interior design company and has been a National level badminton player. Khyati Desai works as an HR head. And Durriya Tapia is the director of a travel company.
Talking about their future plans, the dynamic women reveal that they are being contacted by the Governments of the countries they visited during their ride. The WHO already has Save the Girl Child campaigns going on in these parts. But the Biking Queens believe that the root cause is the lack of education and awareness, and that is the reason why Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is relevant in these countries as well. There are also various campaigns in Gujarat and other parts of India lined up.
Embarking on a journey like this couldn’t have been easy, especially getting approval from their families. However, the cause made the families agree. But an undertaking like this needs a great deal of mental balance apart from knowing how to ride a bike.
“I took a lot of time to decide who all would go on the ride. It’s not easy being away from home for such a long time and that too in such difficult circumstances. It takes great grit and courage. I think these women have those things,” Mehta says.
