Zenith Irfan: Riding Through Patriarchy, One Bike Trip at a Time

Zenith Irfan is the first Pakistani woman to take a solo trip to Kashmir.

Zenith Irfan at Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Zenith Irfan: 1 Girl 2 Wheels)

Helmet, check; biking gear, check; indomitable spirit, check. This young Pakistani woman, Zenith Irfan, is taking on Pakistan’s terrains on her bike.

Irfan began biking in 2013 and became the first Pakistani woman to take a solo trip to Kashmir, according to The Express Tribune. She has been diligently documenting her travels on her Facebook page.

And that is where she received the most flak for being a woman biker, says a report on Vice.

It got bad. I was at breaking point and was so depressed because the comments were absolutely horrendous. So many people said I was a ‘disgrace to the symbol of Islam’ and that I should not be a Muslim, ‘where is my scarf,’ ‘where is my burka’.

Zenith Irfan told Vice.

As her social media presence grew, Irfan began to worry that the Pakistani Taliban may come after her if she revealed her location. But now, she seems to have become unapologetic about being a woman doing what she loves to do, the report added.

At Kaghan Valley, Pakistan. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Zenith Irfan: 1 Girl 2 Wheels)

Dear Society, I raise my head up and tell you, I am proud to be not your ideal girl. I am the voice of millions. I am the power of women. I am proud to be different. I am proud to be challenging enough to suppress a thousand conflicts at once. I am strong. I am invincible. I am a WOMAN. 

Irfan in a Facebook post.

At Rama Valley, Pakistan. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Zenith Irfan: 1 Girl 2 Wheels)

Her posts on Facebook reflect a deep connect with her brother, Sultan Irfan, from whom she draws enormous strength. Sultan was the one to gift her the bike in 2013.

Siblings and biking partners, Zenith and Sultan Irfan. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Zenith Irfan: 1 Girl 2 Wheels)

To be honest, I find it unfair that no one talks about how my brother struggled with me during the journey. How he would push me further into the wilderness and ask me not to give up. When we eliminate all gender labels, we find that we are humans in the end. He should equally be credited and appreciated! 

At Shigar Valley. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Zenith Irfan: 1 Girl 2 Wheels)

Irfan has traveled across her country and met many different people along the way. She realises that what she has, thousands of young girls cannot dream of – and she doesn’t take it for granted.

She has a vociferous voice, and seems to be conscious of the fact that she is in some ways challenging deep-rooted patriarchal notions about what women should and should not do.

But she’s not stopping. Her travels are symbolic of a million stereotypes shattering, one bike trip at a time.