International Women’s Day: BSF women bikers to embark on 5,280-km road expedition

PTI, Mar 4, 2022, 8:20 PM IST

Representative Image (Credit: Twitter / @UN_Women)

New Delhi: Thirty-six women bikers of the Border Security Force (BSF) will embark on a 5,280-km cross-country road expedition with an aim to spread the message of women empowerment, a senior officer said on Friday.

The 21-day ‘Seema Bhawani Shaurya Expedition Empowerment Ride-2022′ will be flagged from the India Gate here on International Women’s Day on March 8.

The expedition will end on March 28 in Chennai after they traverse a total of 5,280 km through major cities such as Chandigarh, Amritsar, Bikaner, Jaipur, Udaipur, Gandhinagar, Bharuch, Nashik, Pune, Solapur, Hyderabad, Anantapur, Bengaluru, Salem, Madurai and Kanyakumari.

BSF director general (DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh told reporters here that the women will spread the message of their achievements and national unity.

The expedition will showcase what they are capable of, he said.

The DG said the bikers’ group, which has shown its dare-devil skills at the Republic Day parade twice, will be supported by Royal Enfield, the maker of Bullet motorcycles.

The team members are in the 25-41 age group.

They will ride the Classic 350 Royal Enfield motorcycles provided by the company for the expedition, while logistics and other administrative requirements of the team will be jointly taken care of by the BSF and the company, a BSF spokesperson said.

”The team will also be interacting with various riding communities and audiences with an intent to sensitize and bring forth awareness about the capabilities of women while emphasizing freedom from bias, stereotypes, and discrimination,” the spokesperson said.

The ‘Seema Bhawani’ all-women bikers team was raised in 2016 and it took part in the Republic Day parade on the Rajpath in 2018 and 2022.