Los Angeles Times

Revving up to fight the patriarchy: Pakistan's women learn to ride motorbikes

LAHORE, Pakistan - One morning recently, 28-year-old Rahila Qaisar donned a pink helmet, balanced her handbag on her lap and revved her new pink Honda motorcycle, so fresh from the factory that the passenger seat was still covered in plastic.

Qaisar is one of hundreds of newly minted motorcycle riders zipping around eastern Pakistan under a government initiative to help women navigate the country's notoriously male-dominated roads.

The Women on Wheels campaign has trained more than 3,500 female motorcycle riders in Punjab province - the country's largest - and plans to furnish more than 700 subsidized bikes to licensed riders

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