Afghan Women Ride to Freedom

The stationery bike is perhaps the most recent vehicle through which Afghan women are securing their rights as women and citizens. The Shafaq Women’s Bodybuilding Club recently opened its doors to women living in the central city of Herat. “The Shafaq club is one of three fitness clubs which have opened for women in Herat in recent months, the first of their kind in the country where four years ago under the Taliban regime women were not allowed to work, study or leave the house without an all-covering burqa. Even after the fall of the hard-line Islamic Taliban in 2001, Nazifa Sidiq, 27, had to exercise in secret. Her group of seven women who used to meet to train together were busted by the authorities and ordered to stop in 2002.” Afghani women’s rights activists are claiming that this is one more significant step in achieving the freedoms that all citizens, especially women, deserve in Afghanistan. Women also claim that exercise—and the ability to do it freely—have prompted dialogues on other problematic traditions that violate women’s rights and have helped catalyze further movements for Afghan women. She [Nazifa Sidiq] says that being able to exercise has made her more willing to push the boundaries of tradition. "’Now I have gone back to school after a 13-year gap because of my marriage. I am more aware of my rights," she adds.” Hopefully the surge in exercise and workout facilities won't prompt Richard Simmons or Denise Austin-like Afghan counterparts!