Cycling and women’s independence

For a girl or woman, being able to get from one place to another without asking anyone is a quiet kind of freedom. A bicycle gives exactly that. It is also one of the cheapest forms of transport that exists. This article looks at what research and reporting say about bicycles and women’s independence, in Bangladesh and elsewhere.

The situation in Bangladesh

Writing in The Daily Star in April 2026, Nazma Sultana points out that in Bangladesh the bicycle is still treated as unusual for women, with stigma rooted in ideas about modesty and about where women belong. She notes that only about 42.5% of working-age women take part in the labour force, compared with about 81.3% of men, and that an IMF estimate suggests closing gender gaps in labour-force participation could raise the country’s GDP by almost 40%. She lists the barriers: a lack of safe cycling infrastructure such as lanes and lighting, long distances to schools and workplaces that push some girls out of education, and limited institutional support.

What bicycles did for girls elsewhere

The best-studied example comes from Bihar, India. A programme that gave girls money to buy bicycles for the ride to secondary school was studied by researchers over many years. They found it raised girls’ enrolment by about 32% and reduced the gender gap in enrolment by about 40%. It also raised the number of girls taking the secondary exam by about 18% and the number graduating by about 12%. A follow-up survey in 2016 found that beneficiaries were more likely to finish their education, to look for work outside agriculture and to delay marriage.

The Daily Star article also cites a report from Zambia in which girls with bicycles experienced around 22% less sexual harassment on the way to school. These are different countries and contexts, but the pattern is consistent: when a girl can travel safely and quickly on her own, more doors open.

Freedom on your own terms

• Mobility is opportunity: a school or job a few kilometres away becomes reachable without relying on someone else or on crowded transport.
• Safety on your own schedule: you choose when to leave, and which route to take.
• Savings: no bus or rickshaw fares for short trips adds up over a year.
• Time: less waiting at the stop, more time for study, work or family.

Health: an added bonus

A large UK study of about 263,000 commuters, published in the BMJ in 2017, found that people who cycled to work had a 46% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 41% lower risk of dying from any cause than people who commuted by car or public transport, after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diet, weight and other factors. This kind of study shows an association rather than proof, but it matches what the WHO says about regular activity.

WHO global estimates also suggest that women are less likely than men to get enough physical activity: about 31.7% of adult women, against about 23.4% of men, are insufficiently active. Cycling is an easy, daily way to close that gap.

How families can help

• Encourage her to learn, and come to watch a practice session.
• Help with a bicycle: buy one, repair one or borrow one.
• Ride together on weekends.
• Celebrate every small step.
• Talk about safety together: routes, daylight hours, a helmet, a phone and a plan.

What would help more

Sultana argues that government, the private sector, particularly the garment industry, and development organisations should work together to subsidise bicycles, build safe cycling lanes and run public awareness campaigns. Until then, community groups like ours fill part of the gap by teaching skills, lending bicycles and creating safe spaces to learn.