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‘Chic women’ ride bikes in Turkey
‘Chic women’ ride bikes in Turkey
Thousands of women bikers from over 60 cities in Turkey went behind the wheel on Sept. 23 for the annual “Chic Women’s Bicycle Tour” in an attempt to give more visibility to women in Turkish society and to demand cycle-friendly cities. Click through for the story in photos...
The Chic Women Bike Ride first took place in 2013 with the initiation of Sema Gür, a history teacher based in the Aegean province of İzmir. The bike tour came to life initially in İzmir but over the years spread to other cities.
Women dressing up and riding their decorated bikes partake in the demonstration every year to bring more women to the streets and to push municipalities to invest in cycling infrastructure, to increase safety on roads for bike riding and develop bike-friendly services.
In Istanbul, women bikers met in the Caddebostan neighborhood of Kadıköy district at 11 a.m. and pedaled to Göztepe Park. “We want to have free cities on the streets we wander around in a fancy way every day. We believe a society is more beautiful when women are on the streets. We invite everyone to use bikes,” the event’s organizer for Istanbul, Perran Yalçın Yavru, told daily Hürriyet.
Meanwhile, Gür, founder of the initiative, told state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview that a bicycle was not just a vehicle that “was supposed to be used in sports clothing.”
“We have developed an idea with my friends. Since 2013, we have been organizing an awareness event every year in September on World Car Free Day or within that week. We dress ourselves up, because we are trying to have ourselves being distinguished. We are chic as we try to raise awareness,” Gür said.
“We have jobs and dress up in plain ways in our daily lives. In fact, we are not a group, we are women who have come together voluntarily and by chance. When people see sportive bikers, they do not aspire [to ride bicycles], but those who see others ride even in fancy clothing say, ‘I can also ride.’”
In 2013, Gür asked a group of cyclist friends, all women, to come together one Sunday morning in İzmir, coinciding with annual Car Free Cities Day, an initiative organized as part of the EU’s “Mobility Week” activities. She asked them to dress up and decorate their bikes. More than 200 women joined initially and the next year, many more women joined the activity in more cities, turning it into a high-profile annual event.
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