In the past few years, the perception of women’s abilities and capabilities has certainly changed. Women, who were once not allowed to hold credit cards and were fighting for the vote, are now reaching new heights. Their talents know no bounds as well as their aspirations. In a cadre of such like-minded women, Zenith Irfan is one such name. Riding her bike, she traveled across Pakistan and broke the stereotypes attached to women. This step of hers presented a brand new picture of a present-day woman in front of the world.
Zenith draws her inspiration from her father. Her father dreamt about traveling around the world on his motorbike, but his untimely death didn’t provide him a chance to fulfill his dream. Zenith took over her father’s passions and made them her own.
For Zenith, it all started in 2013 when her brother bought a motorcycle and taught her how to ride. The bike lessons were mainly taken to solve the commuting problems, but later that flair brought her ambitions to life. Polishing her skills for two years, she set up for a journey in 2015 and traveled around 3,200 km from Lahore to Khunjerab Pass on a motorbike. In doing so, she became the first Pakistani female motorcyclist to travel across Pakistan.
The journey was not as easy and simple as it sounds through the story. Big aspirations like this come with a lot of pressure and struggle. For starters, being a woman with such high ambition comes as the first stumbling block in a country like Pakistan. For Zenith, the matter was no different. It’s expected that you end up losing your morale when some experts tell your inabilities and the intricacies of the world. Zenith’s stamina was also brought into question when some experts told her that she wouldn’t be able to ride for long. Despite this, she didn’t stop pursuing her dreams. While traveling, Zenith started putting her experiences on her blog by the name ‘One Girl, Two Wheels,’ which grabbed the media’s attention.
In 2018, a Pakistani film, Motorcycle Girl, was released based on Zenith’s life. The movie was directed by Adnan Sarwar and portrayed Sohai Ali Abro in the lead role. It highlighted the struggles and obstructions a woman faces while fulfilling her father’s dream.
Till now, Zenith has traveled across the country many times, both with groups and solo. These journeys, which started as accomplishing her father’s dream, gave her a path to discover herself. She plans to open her own tourism company to promote travel in Pakistan. She also wants to build her own motorcycle from scratch and open workshops to educate women in managing and repairing vehicles. Zenith intends to put her influence to use, and we can’t wait to find out what this step of hers will hold for women in Pakistan.
