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| On a Mission to Put Afghans on Bikes | On a Mission to Put Afghans on Bikes |
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| In November, Shannon Galpin was riding her single-speed mountain bike through the hills outside Kabul. It was her 11th visit to Afghanistan, and she had grown accustomed to the sight of camel caravans, abandoned Soviet tanks and soldiers sweeping the desert for land mines. | In November, Shannon Galpin was riding her single-speed mountain bike through the hills outside Kabul. It was her 11th visit to Afghanistan, and she had grown accustomed to the sight of camel caravans, abandoned Soviet tanks and soldiers sweeping the desert for land mines. |
| One thing she had not seen was another woman on a bicycle. But one afternoon a barista at a local cafe who happened to be an amateur cyclist told Galpin that not only were Afghan women riding bikes, but that they had formed their own national cycling team. Dressed in long pants and full sleeves, with headscarves tucked beneath their helmets, they practiced on the highways before dawn on dated road bikes, accompanied by the coach of the men’s cycling team. | One thing she had not seen was another woman on a bicycle. But one afternoon a barista at a local cafe who happened to be an amateur cyclist told Galpin that not only were Afghan women riding bikes, but that they had formed their own national cycling team. Dressed in long pants and full sleeves, with headscarves tucked beneath their helmets, they practiced on the highways before dawn on dated road bikes, accompanied by the coach of the men’s cycling team. |
| “I couldn’t believe it,” said Galpin, a 38-year-old former Pilates instructor from Breckenridge, Colo. “I’d been in the most liberal areas of the country, and I’d never even seen a little girl on a bike, let alone a grown woman.” | “I couldn’t believe it,” said Galpin, a 38-year-old former Pilates instructor from Breckenridge, Colo. “I’d been in the most liberal areas of the country, and I’d never even seen a little girl on a bike, let alone a grown woman.” |
| 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Galpin, who claims to be the first woman to have ridden a mountain bike through the Afghan countryside, once pedaled across the Panjshir Valley, a distance of 140 miles and 4,000 vertical feet of rough terrain. Having also founded the nonprofit organization Mountain2Mountain in 2006 to aid women in conflict zones, she decided to do something for Afghanistan’s cyclists. | Galpin, who claims to be the first woman to have ridden a mountain bike through the Afghan countryside, once pedaled across the Panjshir Valley, a distance of 140 miles and 4,000 vertical feet of rough terrain. Having also founded the nonprofit organization Mountain2Mountain in 2006 to aid women in conflict zones, she decided to do something for Afghanistan’s cyclists. |
| On Wednesday, Galpin plans to return to Afghanistan to distribute more than 40 duffel bags worth of cycling gear to the men and women’s national cycling teams. The items include bicycle tools, seats, shoes and about 200 jerseys, all of them vetted for beer advertisements that might give unneeded offense in Afghanistan, where alcohol is illegal. | On Wednesday, Galpin plans to return to Afghanistan to distribute more than 40 duffel bags worth of cycling gear to the men and women’s national cycling teams. The items include bicycle tools, seats, shoes and about 200 jerseys, all of them vetted for beer advertisements that might give unneeded offense in Afghanistan, where alcohol is illegal. |
| “My home looks like an episode of ‘Hoarders,’ ” she said. | “My home looks like an episode of ‘Hoarders,’ ” she said. |
| To document the event, Galpin is taking five other women: a photographer, a writer, a social media manager and two filmmakers, who plan to make a short film about the women’s team titled “Afghan Cycles.” | To document the event, Galpin is taking five other women: a photographer, a writer, a social media manager and two filmmakers, who plan to make a short film about the women’s team titled “Afghan Cycles.” |
| Despite having received death threats, many of the female cyclists are eager to speak publicly about the team, Galpin said. | Despite having received death threats, many of the female cyclists are eager to speak publicly about the team, Galpin said. |
| “They’re no different than women in Afghanistan who risk their lives to attend school or run for Parliament,” she said. “They know the only way to challenge and break the taboo is for other women to see them riding bikes.” | “They’re no different than women in Afghanistan who risk their lives to attend school or run for Parliament,” she said. “They know the only way to challenge and break the taboo is for other women to see them riding bikes.” |
| The roots of Galpin’s commitment to women’s rights stretch back to her teens. She grew up in Bismarck, N.D., and at 17 apprenticed as a modern dancer in Minneapolis. One night, while she was walking through an empty park downtown, she was raped and stabbed several times by a man who appeared from the shadows. | The roots of Galpin’s commitment to women’s rights stretch back to her teens. She grew up in Bismarck, N.D., and at 17 apprenticed as a modern dancer in Minneapolis. One night, while she was walking through an empty park downtown, she was raped and stabbed several times by a man who appeared from the shadows. |
| After the attack, Galpin quit dancing and moved back to North Dakota. With the exception of family members and close friends, she told almost no one that she had been raped until 2009, when she spoke about Mountain2Mountain on “Dateline NBC.” | After the attack, Galpin quit dancing and moved back to North Dakota. With the exception of family members and close friends, she told almost no one that she had been raped until 2009, when she spoke about Mountain2Mountain on “Dateline NBC.” |
| “For years, I was petrified that I’d be defined as a victim,” she said during a visit to New York last month. “I didn’t realize that victimhood could also be a source of strength.” | “For years, I was petrified that I’d be defined as a victim,” she said during a visit to New York last month. “I didn’t realize that victimhood could also be a source of strength.” |
| Galpin spent most of her 20s in Europe and Lebanon, working as an athletic trainer. While living in Germany, she married a British engineer, and the two eventually moved to Breckenridge, where they had a daughter, Devon, in 2004. | Galpin spent most of her 20s in Europe and Lebanon, working as an athletic trainer. While living in Germany, she married a British engineer, and the two eventually moved to Breckenridge, where they had a daughter, Devon, in 2004. |
| But Galpin grew restless in Colorado. Not long after she arrived, her marriage fell apart. Then her sister, who is 10 years younger, reported being raped in college. Galpin founded Mountain2Mountain in response. | But Galpin grew restless in Colorado. Not long after she arrived, her marriage fell apart. Then her sister, who is 10 years younger, reported being raped in college. Galpin founded Mountain2Mountain in response. |
| “It sounds cliché, but I wanted to make the world a better place for my daughter,” she said. | “It sounds cliché, but I wanted to make the world a better place for my daughter,” she said. |
| Galpin made her first trip to Afghanistan in 2008. Since then, Mountain2Mountain has built a heroin rehabilitation center for women and computer labs for girls’ schools in Kabul, among other projects. | Galpin made her first trip to Afghanistan in 2008. Since then, Mountain2Mountain has built a heroin rehabilitation center for women and computer labs for girls’ schools in Kabul, among other projects. |
| Afghanistan has 45 licensed female cyclists among three categories: junior, under-23 and elite, according to the International Cycling Union, the world governing body of cycling, or U.C.I. Some of these riders participated in the Asian cycling championships, held in New Delhi last month, though four of them failed to finish. | Afghanistan has 45 licensed female cyclists among three categories: junior, under-23 and elite, according to the International Cycling Union, the world governing body of cycling, or U.C.I. Some of these riders participated in the Asian cycling championships, held in New Delhi last month, though four of them failed to finish. |
| “The fact that they were at the start line is a victory of sorts,” said Dominique Raymond, the manager of National Federations and Continental Confederations for the U.C.I. Galpin said that current attitudes toward female cyclists in Afghanistan are not so different from those in the United States in the late 1800s. | “The fact that they were at the start line is a victory of sorts,” said Dominique Raymond, the manager of National Federations and Continental Confederations for the U.C.I. Galpin said that current attitudes toward female cyclists in Afghanistan are not so different from those in the United States in the late 1800s. |
| “Women were often deemed promiscuous if they rode bikes in the street,” she said. | “Women were often deemed promiscuous if they rode bikes in the street,” she said. |
| Sue Macy, the author of “Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom,” a book about the bicycle’s role in the history of women’s rights, said the sudden popularity of the “safety” bicycle, as opposed to the treacherous, high-wheeled “ordinary” bike, in the early 1890s changed how women dressed and engaged with the world. | |
| “Since they couldn’t wear hoop skirts and corsets on a bike, they started wearing bifurcated garments, like bloomers,” she said. “Instead of meeting a suitor in the parlor, they started riding around and meeting people without supervision.” | “Since they couldn’t wear hoop skirts and corsets on a bike, they started wearing bifurcated garments, like bloomers,” she said. “Instead of meeting a suitor in the parlor, they started riding around and meeting people without supervision.” |
| Galpin is hoping to influence similar changes in Afghanistan, where female athletes have made substantial strides. Women represented Afghanistan at the Olympics for the first time at the 2004 Athens Games when Fariba Rezayee competed in judo and Robina Muqimyar ran the 100-meter sprint. | Galpin is hoping to influence similar changes in Afghanistan, where female athletes have made substantial strides. Women represented Afghanistan at the Olympics for the first time at the 2004 Athens Games when Fariba Rezayee competed in judo and Robina Muqimyar ran the 100-meter sprint. |
| Last year, Sadaf Rahimi received an invitation to box in the London Games, the first time the sport was open to women. (The International Boxing Association later revoked the invitation on the grounds that superior boxers posed a risk to the safety of Rahimi, who was 19.) | Last year, Sadaf Rahimi received an invitation to box in the London Games, the first time the sport was open to women. (The International Boxing Association later revoked the invitation on the grounds that superior boxers posed a risk to the safety of Rahimi, who was 19.) |
| Salma Kakar, 16, a cyclist on the Afghan women’s team, recently announced her intent to wave the flag of Afghanistan at the Olympics. For that to happen, Raymond said, the team would need to start accumulating points in the U.C.I. nations ranking, gained through events like the Women’s Road World Cup and the Continental Championships. | Salma Kakar, 16, a cyclist on the Afghan women’s team, recently announced her intent to wave the flag of Afghanistan at the Olympics. For that to happen, Raymond said, the team would need to start accumulating points in the U.C.I. nations ranking, gained through events like the Women’s Road World Cup and the Continental Championships. |
| If the Afghan women fail to qualify through competition, they are also eligible for scholarships through the Olympic Solidarity Commission, which helps countries in need to develop their sports programs. | If the Afghan women fail to qualify through competition, they are also eligible for scholarships through the Olympic Solidarity Commission, which helps countries in need to develop their sports programs. |
| The first step, of course, is to get some proper equipment. | The first step, of course, is to get some proper equipment. |
| “The bike company Giro donated a bunch of helmets and shoes,” Galpin said. “But the girls need money to train, to travel to races and to afford coaches who can teach them basic stuff like how to ride in a pack. | “The bike company Giro donated a bunch of helmets and shoes,” Galpin said. “But the girls need money to train, to travel to races and to afford coaches who can teach them basic stuff like how to ride in a pack. |
| “Once they’ve all finished a race,” she added, “they can start trying to win one.” | “Once they’ve all finished a race,” she added, “they can start trying to win one.” |