Zenith Irfan: Pakistan's motorcycle girl racing into the record books

In 2015, Zenith Irfan rode her motorcycle through the plains of Punjab, Pakistan to the breathtaking valleys of Kashmir, and on seeing snow for the first time as the stunning mountains came into view – she began to cry.

Over 6 years after that moment of seeing her first ever snowfall, the young woman still has a tremble in her voice as she describes that moment – one that she describes as the most memorable in all the trips that she’s taken with her trusty motorcycle. 

"Initially inspired by her late father’s dream to ride a motorcycle across the world, Zenith says that it was actually circumstance that brought her and motorcycling together"

What Zenith describes as a moment that took her breath away, is part of a journey that has continued to inspire Pakistani women to reclaim public spaces and earned her the name of “Pakistan’s Motorcycle Girl”, after she became the first woman in Pakistan to journey across the country in her motorcycle.

Women in Pakistan have long fought against cultural taboos and control over their presence in public, which makes Zenith’s achievements all the more important amidst a background of women reclaiming public spaces.

In 2021, Zenith was awarded the Pride Of Pakistan awarded by the government. The award is given to people with notable achievements across a range of fields, including sports and Zenith was awarded this for her achievements as a biker – particularly her journey from the Khunjerab pass (the highest point in Pakistan) to the Karachi coast (the lowest).  

Initially inspired by her late father’s dream to ride a motorcycle across the world, Zenith says that it was actually circumstance that brought her and motorcycling together.

“Back in 2013, when I had just started university, my family was having some financial troubles and the bus to university was too expensive for us. Around the same time, my mother had bought a motorbike for my brother and in her desire for me to be independent as well – had asked my brother to teach me how to ride,” she shares how she began her journey riding bikes. 

What started off as merely travelling to university to cut costs turned into a love that has never gone away. “I remember being so young and full of energy when I started learning, and a year later when I got the chance to go on this cross country trip with some friends who were already doing so,” she says.

But despite having a supportive mentor and a family that has always encouraged her, the young adventure seeker has often had to face the very obvious patriarchy that dictates what women can and cannot do.

Sharing her experience at the Cholistan rally, a popular motorcycling event held in Pakistan between February and March, the motorcyclist shares that her conversations with fellow members of the biking community left her feeling alienated and discouraged. 

"At a time where women in Pakistan often struggle to gain access to public spaces, or be independent, Zenith’s achievement and the movement it has inspired goes far beyond a government award or accolade. It is the start of a revolution – one that will continue for years to come"

“I met some people there who were also very passionate about motorcycles – many of whom were senior motorcyclists – and I told them about my father’s dream, and how I wanted to be the one to achieve it for him. To my utter shock, they told me 'oh you can’t do that, you’ll be r*ped',” she says adding how discouraging those interactions were.

But these interactions, along with the mental and physical challenges she faced on the journey itself are what Zenith describes as ‘growing pains.’ “Without these challenges, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she says.

It’s not just the physical challenges she’s talking about. In fact, she says those seemed very less compared to the mental hurdles she had to overcome.

“Fear was a big one. When I first started riding I had no clue how to ride in the mountains and I had to talk myself into that fear and become friends with it. Or when I rode from Lahore to Islamabad and I was tired, I had to talk to myself and tell myself that I had already come 3-400 km away from my house so I could do a little bit more. If I ever found myself to be vulnerable I would continue to push myself and remind myself that life’s best achievements were on the other side of fear,” she shares.

Since those initial years of chasing her dream, Zenith has continued to write about her motorcycling adventures in the hopes that being the first woman to achieve this feat won’t make her the last as well.

“Over the last few years, things have changed so much. Back in 2013, I don’t remember seeing any other woman on a bike but now I regularly get messages and emails from women who want to learn. The effect multiplies. Someone will see me and start to ride, and someone else will see them and so on,” she says.

More and more women have started finding independence in depending on no one but themselves for travel and being more comfortable in their own skin publicly. 

She also shares how her initially small personal blog became the inspiration behind the Women On Wheels campaign that aims to empower women through mobility by teaching them skills and subsidizing motorbikes.

Women on Wheels was brought to life by Salman Sufi and launched by the Punjab government in 2016. It now aims to 500,000 women by 2025. Of course, there’s still a long way to go when it comes to government-backed initiatives that create safer spaces for women in public, and a lot of mindsets need to be changed.

Still, at a time when women in Pakistan often struggle to gain access to public spaces or be independent, Zenith’s achievement and the movement it has inspired goes far beyond a government award or accolade. It is the start of a revolution – one that will continue for years to come. 

Anmol Irfan is a freelance journalist with bylines in VICE, HUCK, and The Guardian among others. She has experience writing on minority politics, activism, and gender issues. She is also the founder of the Pakistani community platform, Perspectives Magazine.

Follow her on Twitter @anmolirfan22