Quote · The Moth
Cotton Candy and Revolutionary Rides: The Moth Radio Hour
Where this was said
Five Borrowed Bikes, 11 Women, and a Bombed-Out Highway
At 49:20 · chapter starts 45:55
The morning of the ride, Bushra wakes at 6 AM and writes on Facebook: 'It's a revolutionary day.' She has hidden five bikes in her father's car without telling her parents, having always been the golden sheep expected not to cause trouble. She chooses the most visible highway she can find — a major artery, deliberately — even though it has been damaged by bombing and there is a checkpoint ahead. She thinks she might be alone. Then a friend shows up. Then another. Two women appear from the checkpoint — a mother and daughter who do not know how to bike but came to support the cause. Within five minutes, 11 women have gathered and are taking turns on the five bikes. Men scream from cars. Bushra blocks them out. When she finally gets on a bike herself, she feels the breeze in her scarf and her abaya, and she forgets entirely that there is a siege, rebels, or airstrikes. [1] — Bushra Al-Fusail "Men screamed from car windows. A checkpoint loomed. But once Bushra Al-Fusail started pedaling, she felt the breeze in her scarf and forgot…" 48:00 For two hours, 11 women on a destroyed highway experience something that did not exist before: freedom.
Despite 100 women signing up online for the Yemeni Women Bike campaign, only 11 actually showed up on the day — but for Bushra Al-Fusail, it felt like a revolution.
Men screamed from car windows. A checkpoint loomed. But once Bushra Al-Fusail started pedaling, she felt the breeze in her scarf and forgot entirely about the siege, the rebels, and the bombs. For two hours, 11 women on borrowed bikes experienced something that hadn't existed before: freedom.
