Nibha Kumari, a 27-year-old resident of Bihar, India’s most impoverished state, reflects on the life-changing impact of receiving a bicycle at the age of 15. For two years, she dedicated six days a week to cycling two hours daily from home to school and coaching classes using a bike provided by the state government.
“If I didn’t have a cycle, I don’t think I could have finished high school. It changed my life,” she states, highlighting the significance of mobility in her education. As the daughter of a farmer from Begusarai district, Nibha had to live with her aunt 10 kilometers away to access primary education, facing challenges due to unreliable public transportation.
Returning home for high school, she embraced cycling as a means to navigate the rough village roads and pursue her studies. “Girls have gained a lot of confidence since they began using bicycles to reach schools and coaching classes. More girls are attending school now, most of whom receive free bicycles,” notes Bhuvaneshwari Kumari, a health worker in Begusarai.
A recent study published in a peer-reviewed journal reveals significant findings about schoolchildren and cycling in rural India. The research indicates a remarkable increase in cycling among rural girls, with participation more than doubling from 4.5% in 2007 to 11% in 2017, effectively narrowing the gender gap in this activity.
“We call it a silent revolution,” says one researcher, emphasizing the growth of cycling among girls in a country marked by gender inequality and restrictions on female mobility. State-sponsored bicycle distribution initiatives, initiated in 2004, specifically targeted girls, who historically faced higher dropout rates compared to boys due to household responsibilities and long walks to school. This trend of utilizing bicycles to boost girls’ education is not exclusive to India, as similar programs in countries such as Colombia and Kenya have shown positive outcomes.
The researchers analyzed data from a nationwide education survey, focusing on transportation methods used by students aged 5 to 17, to evaluate the impact of these bicycle initiatives. Results indicate that overall, student cycling to school increased from 6.6% in 2007 to 11.2% in 2017, with a notable rise in rural areas while urban cycling rates remained stagnant due to safety concerns related to traffic.
Indian states like Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Chhattisgarh are leading this cycling revolution, with rural areas showing higher cycling rates for longer distances compared to urban settings. Despite the rising trend, only 20% of individuals who commuted outside their homes reported cycling as their primary transportation mode during the last Census in 2011, with a gender gap highlighting more men than women cycling for work.
This significant gender disparity in cycling behavior poses concerns among researchers, as older women tend to cycle less, possibly due to diminishing job opportunities and workforce exit rates. Nibha, for instance, stopped cycling after marriage but continues to travel outside her home for her teacher training, although she remarks, “I don’t need the cycle anymore.”
