Cyclists, in Pakistan’s smog-shrouded Lahore, endure dangerous pollution levels, abuse from drivers, and social stigma in a campaign to persuade people to give up their automobiles.
Each week, about 100 adults and children hop on their bikes and pedal around the city’s landmarks. Some of them are wearing masks or scarves around their mouths and noses.
“The smog is a huge concern for us because there are so many cars now and the population has increased so much,” said Afia Khan, who joined the initiative in August.
However, persuading people to use this ecologically benign mode of transportation is difficult, and those who do so frequently need a police escort to keep them safe in a city without designated bicycle lanes.
Rana Sohail, the executive director of Clean Pakistan Green Pakistan, which began the project alongside Critical Mass Lahore, said that cyclists are at the mercy of these cruel motorbikes, chingchies, and cars that have not accepted the idea of sharing the roads with cyclists.
There is also a pervasive attitude in deeply conservative Pakistan that sport, including cycling, is inappropriate for women, who risk harassment from men.
Lahore consistently ranks as one of the world’s most polluted large cities, with industrial pollutants, smoke from seasonal crop burn-off, fumes from vehicles and colder winter temperatures coalescing into toxic smog.
In November a court ruling forced authorities to close schools on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as the usual Sunday break, due to high levels of air pollution.
