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The logo of the Equal Opportunities Office at TU Dortmund University
Lettering: Up to Date, queer and feminist calendar of the Equal Opportunities Office of TU Dortmund University © Borgschulze​/​TU Dortmund
June 3

World Bicycle Day

World Bicycle Day promotes the reputation of the climate-neutral vehicle. However, the bicycle has also made a significant contribution to the emancipation of women.

World Bicycle Day takes place every year on June 3. The day draws attention to the benefits of cycling in terms of health and climate protection. It was initiated by US sociologist and bicycle activist Leszek Sibilski. In 2018, World Bicycle Day was officially recognized by the United Nations as a day of action (United Nations n. d.).
The bicycle is not only an important tool for an factor for an environmental revolution in transportation, but also plays a major role in the history of women's emancipation. This is why feminist bike tours and demonstrations on bicycles have been taking place for over ten years. The tradition was started in 2013 by two women in the Turkish city of Izmir with the aim of creating more visibility for women on the streets (FWBR n. d.). The form of action continued to spread and also became popular in Germany, for example on “International Women's* Day” in Berlin in 2024 (Tagesspiegel 2024) or at the “Fancy Woman Bike Ride” in Bremen (Gerling 2022). 

“I think it [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” - Susan B. Anthony, women's rights activist of the 19th century (Bly n. d.)

The first bicycle was built in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century. The bicycle quickly spread all over the world - because it was affordable and allowed people to move around more quickly. The invention of the bicycle came at a time when women usually had to take care of the household and children and only rarely were allowed an education or a profession (Carstens 2022). However, it was also the time of the first women's rights movements, especially in the US. The bicycle quickly became popular among women, as it enabled them to move around freely and saved a lot of time (Carstens 2022).
But not everyone was enthusiastic about women on bicycles and the new freedom that came with it. Doctors wrote medical reports which documented an alleged facial deformation in women who rode bicycles. Female cyclists in traffic were regularly accompanied by hooting or physically harassed (Carstens 2022). Nevertheless, the bicycle became established as a means of transport for women at the latest with the start of industrialization in the mid-19th century. Bicycles could now be mass-produced and offered at even lower prices.
Today, the bicycle is an everyday means of transportation for women in many countries around the world. In some countries, it has not yet lost any of its fight for emancipation. In Afghanistan, cycling is forbidden for women and girls for religious reasons (Dlf Nova 2023), in Iran it is “not recommended” by the religious leader (Petter & Röhling 2016). But in 2016, a protest formed here: Women cycling in Iran showed themselves under the hashtag #IranWomanLoveCycling and started a large movement. In Saudi Arabia, women have been legally allowed to ride bicycles since 2013.

Films and stories also show that the bicycle can be seen as a symbol of female emancipation. In 2013, Saudi Arabian director Haifa al-Mansur produced the country's first feature film. The protagonist of the film is the ten-year-old girl Wadja, who wants nothing more than the green bicycle from the store next door (Kaever 2013). Or the story of the now 20-year-old Khothalang Leuta from Lesotho in South Africa. She started riding a BMX bike as a child in an area where it is not common for women to ride bikes and very few can afford one. Today, Khothalang rides and wins BMX races and wants to inspire other girls to take up cycling: “I think I can be an inspiration. And I hope I can amaze everyone with what a girl from Roma is capable of.” (Nxumalo 2021).

 

Last updated: May 2025

Sources (in German)

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