Jed Lipinski profiles Shannon Galpin, avid cyclist and founder of a nonprofit organization to aid women in conflict zones, who is hoping to improve women's rights in Afghanistan by supporting its fledgling bicycle culture.
"For women in Afghanistan, riding a bicycle is taboo. What is considered appropriate behavior varies from one family and community to the next, but women riding bicycles is 'generally considered immoral,' said Heather Barr, an Afghanistan researcher for Human Rights Watch."
"In the hierarchy of cultural offenses committed by women, it ranks somewhere between driving a car and so-called moral crimes, which include running away from home or being spotted in the company of a man who is not a relative."
“[Female cyclists are] no different than women in Afghanistan who risk their lives to attend school or run for Parliament,” Galpin said. “They know the only way to challenge and break the taboo is for other women to see them riding bikes.”
FULL STORY: Cycling Past an Afghan Taboo
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research