Pedaling against patriarchy: Women cyclists send message on two wheels

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'Two Tyred of the Patriarchy' the third addition of the Girls on Bikes Rally took place across Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Many riders armed their wheels with signs similar to those seen at the Aurat March in early March. (Photo courtesy: Girls At Dhabas)
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Zara Zaman Khan Afridi and Grace Louis at the meet up for the Islamabad leg of the Girls on Bikes Rally. (Photo courtesy: Grace Louise)
Updated 02 April 2018
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Pedaling against patriarchy: Women cyclists send message on two wheels

ISLAMABAD: Women of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi were on a roll, literally, when they took to two wheels for the third Girls on Bikes rally.
The rally was organized by Girls at Dhabas, an initiative started in Karachi a few years ago encouraging women to reclaim public spaces in Pakistan.
Although Pakistan’s bustling cities have no shortage of roadside chai shops, kabob houses or vendors selling paratha rolls, it is rare for women to take up seats laid by the side of the road.
There are no rules preventing women and girls from taking a seat, but a patriarchal culture that encourages women to stay at home has also led to harassment in public spaces. This has resulted in a general acceptance that female are patrons are not welcome in some places.
“The bike rally is a public intervention. It changes our streets and it changes reality,” said director Anam Abbas, who filmed the Karachi leg of the ride this year.
“However short term and symbolic it may be, at that moment there is a rupture in the constrictive male public space. It will embolden some riders to keep riding, and for the witnesses it is the vision of possibility.”

Girls on Bikes, like Girls at Dhaba, lets women know that the country’s roadside restaurants — and the roads, too — also belong to them.
“The rallies are primarily a symbolic gesture we do once a year to reach out to women who may have been inhibited in the past from cycling in public spaces,” says Meherbano Raja, an Islamabad-based member of the both groups.
After the first set of rallies organized in 2016, other independent Girls on Bikes groups were started in Karachi and Lahore, with female cycling enthusiasts getting together for monthly rides, she said.
In 2016, Lahore was the site of the first Girls on Bikes rally.
Group member Shmyla Khan said: “For several women, it was their first experience navigating the chaotic traffic from the vantage point of a cyclist. Some participants said they enjoyed chatting with pedestrians, motorcyclists and rickshaw-wallas as they drove along. Cars full of families waved enthusiastically, took pictures and one child even gave us a high-five.”
Zara Peerzada, who joined the Lahore leg, said: “It was amazing — everyone was positive, patient and helpful.
“Our route took us around the heart of the city. Cycling through so much traffic was a little unnerving, but it did not feel uncomfortable or unnatural — and that was empowering. Just seeing so many women having a good time together outside, in public spaces, felt great.”
In Islamabad, more than 70 women joined the ride.

Grace Louise, an avid cyclist who has not biked since moving to Islamabad, found the ride heartening.
“It felt fun, supportive and inspiring, particularly the teenage girls who were so assertive and angry about sexual harassment and the importance of claiming space,” she said.
Another participant, Zara Zaman Khan Afridi, said: “People were surprised, but took an interest in what we were doing because we were screaming, ‘humari sarkeh, humara shehr, (our streets, our city).”
However, the cyclists also faced occasional catcalls and aggressive behavior from men.
“At times we felt like we were part of the rhythm of the city, but at other times we experienced the harassment that is part of the experience of women in public spaces — stares, catcalls and deliberate disruption,” said Shymla Khan.
Women shared stories and swapped strategies on dealing with everyday harassment.
The symbolism of the cycle rallies was not lost on the women who took part.
“I cycle and I walk normally in my life,” said Afridi. “I am all for taking back public spaces for women. We must do (these rallies) for others who don’t have the same accessibility as us.
“Poor women have to walk, you never see them on a bike, so if they can’t afford transport, unlike their male counterparts they have no choice but to walk. So this is for them,” she said.


Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover

Updated 58 min 33 sec ago
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Taiwan says 41 Chinese military aircraft, ships detected ahead of Lai US stopover

  • The figure was the highest in more than three weeks, according to a tally of figures released daily by Taiwan’s defense ministry

TAIPEI: Taiwan said Friday it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.
The figure was the highest in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by Taiwan’s defense ministry.
China insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory, which Taipei rejects.
To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
In the 24 hours to 6:00 a.m. on Friday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China’s “joint combat readiness patrol” on Thursday evening and was the highest number since November 4.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon — the fourth since Sunday — about 172 kilometers west of the island.


UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms

Updated 29 November 2024
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UN plastic treaty talks push for breakthrough as deadline looms

  • South Korea is hosting the fifth and final UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to agree globally binding rules on plastics this week

BUSAN, South Korea: Negotiators at the fifth round of talks aimed at securing an international treaty to curb plastic pollution were striving on Friday to speed up sluggish proceedings and reach a deal by a Dec. 1 deadline.
South Korea is hosting the fifth and final UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting to agree globally binding rules on plastics this week.
Until Thursday, several delegates from around 175 countries participating had expressed frustration about the slow pace of the talks amid disagreements over procedure, multiple proposals and some negotiations even returning to ground covered in the past.
In an attempt to speed up the process, INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso is holding informal meetings on Friday to try and tackle the most divisive issues.
These issues include curbing plastic products and chemicals of concern, managing the supply of primary polymers, and a financial mechanism to help developing countries implement the treaty.
Petrochemical-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia strongly oppose efforts to target a cap on plastic production, over the protests of countries that bear the brunt of plastic pollution such as low- and middle-income nations.
While supporting an international treaty, the petrochemical industry has also been vocal in urging governments to avoid setting mandatory plastic production caps, and focus instead on solutions to reduce plastic waste, like recycling.
The INC plans an open a plenary session at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Friday that will provide an indication of how close the talks have moved toward a treaty.


New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry

Updated 29 November 2024
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New Zealand navy vessel hit reef, sank after ‘autopilot’ error: inquiry

  • Dozens of sailors were rescued from the HMNZS Manawanui in October after it struck a reef
  • Vessel burst into flames and finally sank south of Samoa’s most populous island Upolu

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand navy vessel plowed into a reef near Samoa and sank because its crew mistakenly left it on “autopilot,” a military inquiry found on Friday.
Dozens of sailors were rescued from the HMNZS Manawanui in October after it struck a reef, burst into flames and finally sank south of Samoa’s most populous island Upolu.
One of just nine commissioned ships in New Zealand’s small naval fleet, the Manawanui had been dispatched to map the ocean floor.
A military court of inquiry on Friday found the survey vessel had been scuttled because its “autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been.”
“Remaining in autopilot resulted in the ship maintaining a course toward land, until grounding and eventually stranding.”
Crewmembers noticed the ship had veered off course and tried to change direction, believing they had lost control due to a “thruster control failure.”
But they forgot to check if the autopilot had been disengaged first, the tribunal found.
Rather than steering away from danger, the ship “started to accelerate toward the reef.”
Defense Minister Judith Collins said the debacle had “really knocked Navy for six.”
“It was a terrible day. The navy and the defense force are not shying away from this.
“It was extremely disappointing. But that’s what has happened.”
The shipwreck settled on a stable section of reef some 30 meters below the surface.
It was carrying 950 tonnes of diesel when it sank, stirring fears of an oil slick that could kill wildlife and taint crucial food sources.
New Zealand’s navy has said previously that the main fuel tanks appeared to be intact.
Salvage crews were working to retrieve the fuel without major leaks.
No one died in the incident, although a small number of sailors suffered minor injuries.


Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay

Updated 29 November 2024
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Protesters clash with police in Georgia over government’s EU application delay

  • Government suspends EU accession talks until 2028
  • Georgian Dream has deepened ties with Russia amid EU tensions

TBILISI: Police clashed with protesters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi early on Friday, after the country’s ruling party said the government would suspend talks on European Union accession and refuse budgetary grants until 2028.
The country’s interior ministry said three police officers were injured.
Police ordered protesters to disperse, fired water cannon and deployed pepper spray and tear gas as masked young people tried to smash their way into the parliament. Some protesters tossed fireworks at police while shouting “Russians” and “Slaves!“
Georgia’s relations with the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent months as Brussels has alleged that the government had resorted to authoritarian measures and adopted pro-Russian stands.
Thousands of pro-EU protesters had blocked streets in the capital before the altercations began. The country’s figurehead president accused the government of declaring “war” on its own people and confronted riot police, asking whether they served Georgia or Russia.
The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of “a cascade of insults,” saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to “blackmail” the country, and to “organize a revolution in the country.”
As a result, it said: “We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028.”
The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has long been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union’s successor states.
With months of downturn in relations between Tbilisi and Brussels, the EU had already said that Georgia’s application for membership was frozen.
Georgian Dream says it is not pro-Russian, and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West.
It says it still wants to join the EU eventually, but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years, whilst deepening ties with neighboring Russia.
There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream’s statement. But an EU official said the impact of Thursday’s move was huge, adding the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not.
Opinion polls show that around 80 percent of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc’s flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.
The pro-Western opposition reacted to Georgian Dream’s announcement with fury as protesters massed. Local media reported that protests that erupted in provincial cities.

’WAR’ AGAINST PEOPLE
Giorgi Vashadze, a prominent opposition leader, wrote on Facebook: “the self-proclaimed, illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people.”
President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said the ruling party had “declared not peace, but war against its own people, its past and future.”
Zourabichvili’s term ends in December, and Georgian Dream has nominated a former lawmaker with hard-line anti-Western views to replace her.
The opposition says that an October election, in which official results gave the Georgian Dream bloc almost 54 percent of the vote, was fraudulent and have refused to take their seats. Western countries demand a probe into irregularities.
Both Georgian Dream and the country’s election commission say the election was free and fair.
Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that EU membership might harm Georgia’s economy, as it would require Tbilisi to cancel visa-free agreements and trade deals with other countries.
The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023, but has said that a raft of laws passed since by Georgian Dream, including curbs on “foreign agents” and LGBT rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired, and obstacles to EU membership.
Foreign and domestic critics of Georgian Dream say the party, which is seen as dominated by its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is steering Georgia back toward Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991.
Russia and Georgia have had no formal diplomatic relations since Moscow won a brief 2008 war, but have had a limited rapprochement recently.
Opinion polls show most Georgians dislike Russia, which continues to back two breakaway Georgian regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan, praised the “courage and character” he said Georgian authorities had shown in passing the law on foreign agents, which domestic critics have likened to Russian legislation. (Reporting by Felix Light Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn, William Maclean, Frances Kerry and Ron Popeski)


Russian air defenses destroy, down 30 Ukrainian drones in Rostov region

Updated 29 November 2024
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Russian air defenses destroy, down 30 Ukrainian drones in Rostov region

Russian air defenses destroyed or downed 30 Ukrainian drones in southern Rostov region early on Friday, Regional Governor Yuri Slyusar said.
Slyusar, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said some private homes in two villages had sustained some damage, but there were no casualties.