Quote · The Moth
Cotton Candy and Revolutionary Rides: The Moth Radio Hour
Where this was said
Threats, a Mother on a Bike, and Global Solidarity
At 50:33 · chapter starts 50:00
The aftermath is swift and volatile. People knock on the family's door demanding her father account for her behavior. Phone calls pour in. Someone threatens to beat her up if they see her biking again. Bushra lies to her parents: 'I just photographed.' They flee to her older sister's house for safety. But that afternoon, she naps, wakes, and hears her mother laughing. She goes outside and finds her mother in the fully-covered backyard, quietly trying to balance on a bike. No words. Just solidarity. [1] — Bushra Al-Fusail "After the ride, threats poured in and her parents fled to her sister's house. Then Bushra Al-Fusail opened Facebook and watched solidarity …" 50:05 Then her sister shows her Facebook. The photos have spread: a Yemeni girl in Yemen bikes in solidarity. Then women in Canada. Then Egypt. Then New York, DC, London. Hundreds of posts, hashtag after hashtag, from all over the world. 'I felt like I'm not that crazy girl,' Bushra says. She shows her parents the screen: 'See, your daughter is not crazy. We have the right to bike.'
After the ride, threats poured in and her parents fled to her sister's house. Then Bushra Al-Fusail opened Facebook and watched solidarity posts roll in from Egypt, Canada, New York, DC, and London. Hundreds of women cycling in support of Yemeni Women Bike. Her mother, quietly trying to balance a bike in the covered backyard, said it all without a word.
After posting photos, Bushra Al-Fusail saw hundreds of women from Canada, Egypt, New York, DC, London, and beyond post photos in solidarity with the Yemeni Women Bike campaign on Facebook.
