RIDING BIKES LIKE A GIRL

“Lady, will you cut the fruit?” The bike trip leader asked me as our small group began to sit and rest their legs for the first time all day. We had just completed a grueling bike tour of Kisumu county, Kenya. Having started in the center of Kisumu City with around 15 men and women our group biked through the mountains and villages of greater Kisumu County. Finally, 40 kilometers (around 25 miles) later, we reached our destination at the top of the mountain and paused to enjoy some fresh fruit and juice before gliding downhill for the last few miles home. The bike trip was difficult and not for the faint of heart. It was nearly 85 degrees and sunny, almost exclusively uphill, and entirely on unpaved rocky pathways. In the end, only four of us completed the entire thing, with myself being the only woman to finish.

I stood enjoying my reward of the beautiful view overlooking the place I had called home this semester. I felt strong, capable and as if I could accomplish anything. “Lady, the fruit?” he had asked again. I turned around laughing, thinking they were joking, making the only women to complete the trek (and complete it faster and easier than most of the other men) prepare our food. When I saw that all of the guys were seated waiting on me, I realized they were serious and began slicing pineapples and mangoes as commanded.

Riding Bikes Like a Girl: Text

A DEFINING IDENTITY

This was the first time in my whole life that I had ever felt treated differently because of my gender. Growing up, I did most of the same things as the boys. I played little league, did science camps, and loved playing outside with my brother and his friends. I was never made to feel different, let alone inferior. Nevertheless, I understand that not all women around the world are as fortunate or as treated with the same level of respect. That said, when I left for Kenya, I naively failed to recognize that I would see this prejudice in person, let alone experience it myself.

In fact, my identity as a woman defined almost every interaction I had with people during my semester abroad. I was catcalled and whistled at every day on my walk to school. One of the first things people would ask me when meeting, be it when conducting my research or buying groceries at the market, was whether or not I was married. Even within my host family, I was expected to spend my weekends cleaning the house and learning how to cook from my host mother.

Because of my gender, I felt as though I was not taken seriously. Even though I was in Kenya to conduct research, I was rarely ever viewed as a researcher but rather just as a single woman. Despite completing the bike trek, even faster than most of the other men, I was not recognized for my athletic achievement but instead expected to complete the duties reserved to a lady, cutting and serving the fruit.

Riding Bikes Like a Girl: Body

GENDER MAINSTREAMING

In Global Studies 391- Best Practices in International Development we learned that in most modern theories of development understand that gender and female empowerment are necessary in order uplift entire societies. Previously overlooked in past development theory, it is now understood that women are major contributors to economies around the world and empowerment can mean over-all societal improvements as well as improvements in quality of life, health access, education, autonomy etc. for women and girls everywhere. This theory, gender mainstreaming, is defined as the integration of gender into all facets of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres. It has become a central pillar in development discourse and has been successful in promoting and implementing more female inclusive governance across the globe. In fact, the Kenyan constitution states that no more than 2/3rds of the members of elected public bodies can be of the same gender. This has paved ways for better representation for women in governance and a record breaking election for Kenyan women in 2017.

Riding Bikes Like a Girl: Body

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

When I look at my host sisters, Faith who is nine and Anna Peace who is four, I feel hopeful. Faith wants to be a doctor and Anna a fashion designer. The world that they are growing up in, in Kenya, is one full of so many opportunities that the generations before them could never even imagine. Despite all of this, even if laws have changed, the rest of society still needs to catch up. Gender expectations and prejudices are stifling and sometimes even dangerous as harmful acts such as female genital mutilation and child marriage still happen, even in modern communities like Kisumu. This experience has taught me that even if women have been granted all the same legal rights as men, we must, as members of society, continue to actively protest the common rhetoric we hear every day that continues to uphold harmful gender stereotypes.

Riding Bikes Like a Girl: Conclusion