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In a small village in Zambia, a teenager carries the key to her <keyword id="21911075" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bicycle" source="keywords">bicycle</keyword> lock around her neck like an ornament. Her father, the leader of the hamlet frowns upon it. But it has little to no effect on her, because the bicycle was her key to freedom, and symbolic of the agency she now had over her life. <div type="image" title="Students of Government Manorama Vidyapith Girls High School in Patna (2009)" agency="BCCL" msid="113057493" hostid="261"></div> Similarly, a girl in her neighbouring village would deflate her cycle’s tyres every day, and bury the key somewhere far from the reach of her brother, to stop him from using it. Why were these young women so territorial and proud over a seemingly modest mode of commute to their school? How is it related to Bihar, and how has something as small and insignificant as a bicycle paved the way for a broader movement of woman empowerment? Read on to find out! <h2>Bihar’s Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana</h2>Being one of the most impoverished states in India, Bihar is plagued with a large gender gap in school attendance. This gap in attendance in schools only grows with age. The enrollment of girls in primary school is satisfactory, largely due to the availability of primary schools and the introduction of schemes like the midday meal. However, distance remains a huge barrier in the hinterlands, pushing them further away from attending secondary school. In 2006, the Nitish Kumar-led state government, launched the Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana, a pioneering cash-for-kind program to empower girls through education. The program initially provided ₹2000 to 14-year-old girls enrolled in 9th grade, enabling them to purchase bicycles. This initiative was designed to address one of the most significant barriers to education for girls in Bihar—long distances to secondary schools. But, how profound were the implications of this policy intervention? In 2008, <a href="https://www.nishithprakash.com">Professor Nishith Prakash</a> from Northeastern University and <a href="https://econweb.ucsd.edu/~kamurali/index.html">Professor Kartik Muralidharan</a> of the University of California, San Diego embarked on a study to gauge the policy’s impact with support from the International Growth Centre (IGC). Their research found that this bicycle program increased age-appropriate secondary school enrolment for girls aged 14-15 by 32%. It also reduced the gender gap in enrolment by 40%. Moreover, the number of girls appearing for and passing the 10th-grade exam rose by 18% and 12%, respectively. The success of this initiative highlighted the transformative power of providing a bicycle. Inspired by the Bihar program's success, Professor Prakash later collaborated with <a href="https://worldbicyclerelief.org">World Bicycle Relief (WBR)</a> and Zambia's Ministry of General Education to implement a similar initiative in the Southern province of Zambia. <h2>After Bihar, why Zambia?</h2>Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa that has made significant strides in improving access to primary education with near-universal primary school enrolment. However, the story, when it comes to girls in secondary education, is markedly different. The drop-off for girls, as they transition to secondary education is stark. According to the World Bank’s 2015 report ‘Policy Brief: Zambia,’ their enrolment fell to just 61% at the lower secondary level. The same report states that girls drop out of school at double the rate of boys in Grade 7 and triple the rate of boys by Grade 11. <h2>A tough road to secondary school</h2>Transitioning to, and completing secondary education is particularly challenging for girls, primarily due to barriers like school fees, long distances to school, and societal factors such as teenage pregnancy and child marriage. These challenges are even more pronounced in rural areas. Additionally, this transition to secondary school often coincides with the onset of menstruation, which brings its own set of challenges. The lack of menstrual hygiene facilities in schools, coupled with the stigma and lack of awareness surrounding menstruation, further exacerbates the already significant gap in girls' education. Nearly 98% of girls in their sample reported walking to school, spending an average of 110 minutes commuting just one way, as reported in a <a href="https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/working-paper/wheels-change-transforming-girls-lives-bicycles">new study</a> authored by Professor Nishith Prakash and his collaborators. Alarmingly, 35% of these girls reported experiencing sexual harassment during their commute, highlighting just how perilous a journey many face in their pursuit of education. This <a href="https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/working-paper/wheels-change-transforming-girls-lives-bicycles">intervention</a> was introduced in Zambia, providing bicycles to girls in 100 schools across three districts, and the results were promising. Overall absenteeism dropped by 29%, translating to an additional five school days per year for girls in the Southern Province, where the average primary school student missed 18 days annually. Girls in the schools who received the bicycles were 38% less likely to drop out of school compared to those in the schools who did not receive the bicycles. <h2>Pedalling towards a safer commute</h2>The impact of these bicycles extended beyond just improved attendance. The program also led to enhanced perceptions of safety among the girls. One year after the intervention, girls in the treatment group reported a 22% reduction in instances of being teased or harassed on their way to school. Additionally, the probability of girls missing school or leaving early due to safety concerns dropped by 39%. Post the success of this program, the United States Agency For International Development (USAID) awarded $3.5 million to fund bicycles for growth initiatives to increase access in rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, mainly Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. Additionally, the Ministry of General Education (Zambia) scaled up the cycle program in several districts in Zambia. Simply put, the bicycles in Bihar and Zambia gave young girls the agency of making choices for themselves. While the immediate benefit of these programs was providing the means for women to travel to school, the long-term impact reveals significant shifts in attitudes among both the women involved and the communities around them! But did you know that the use of bicycles to provide women with this much-needed agency isn’t new and was actively instituted by women during the suffrage movement of the 19th century — a decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States? <h2>Corsets to cycles: The Suffrage movement &amp; bicycles</h2> <div type="image" title="A woman with a bicycle in early 1900s" msid="113057788" hostid="261"></div> In the late 19th century, during the American industrial revolution, a seemingly simple invention sparked a movement that would forever change women's lives — the bicycle. As the country experienced a ‘bicycle craze,’ the first wave of the women’s rights movement was gaining momentum. The bicycle quickly became more than just a mode of transportation; it became a powerful symbol of change and progress in the fight for women’s emancipation. In fact, the introduction of the bicycle revolutionised women’s fashion, breaking away from restrictive corsets and long skirts that had previously hindered their mobility. Instead, women began to adopt more practical, comfortable clothing that allowed them to cycle freely. The image of the ‘new woman’ emerged — educated, sporty, and career-oriented — with a bicycle as her constant companion. In 1895, at the age of 80, suffragist leader <keyword id="23037502" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elizabeth-cady-stanton" source="keywords">Elizabeth Cady Stanton</keyword> predicted the power of the bicycle in transforming the lives of women. Having the ability to be self-reliant, often for the first time in their lives, would encourage them to be more courageous in other areas as well. While back then, their fight was for their right to vote in political elections, times have changed. Women have to fight different battles — some new and some old — to realise and utilise their potential. What has remained constant in this journey is the bicycle! Susan B. Anthony, another suffragist leader further opined, “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammelled womanhood.” Had she known that several decades later, this simpleton mode of transport would continue to improve the lives of young women in remote parts of the Global South, she would’ve been happy to her heart's content! If something as mundane as access to mobility has historically brought such great results, what can be done to bring greater mobility for women in policy-making today? Professor Nishith Prakash suggests that mobility needs to be thought of in a broader context. Mobility in the case of women isn’t just freedom to be able to go from one place to another. There are multiple actors at play, including their actual safety and the perception of feeling safe in an environment. Cultural norms in most societies across the globe, and in India, automatically grant the power of key-decision making to men. For these archaic norms to be challenged, he suggests changes in curriculum from early childhood. Reiterating the importance of agency in making choices for themselves, there need to be jobs for them to want to step out of the confines of their homes. And once they do, nothing can stop them from cycling away to their freedoms!

SIMPLY PUT: Two Wheels, One Mission — Bicycles empowering girls in Bihar and Zambia, a call-back to 19th century Suffrage movement

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson ReutersChobani Inc. founder Hamdi Ulukaya poses for a portrait in the company headquarters in New York</div></div></div>You may not know his name but Andy Bechtolsheim is one of the giants of American technology. Born in post-World War II Germany, he's always been a natural inventor and entrepreneur. "I spent a lot of time building things," <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110722143921/http:/www.cwheroes.org/archives/histories/BechtolsheimandJoy.pdf">he's said</a> of his rural boyhood. Unlike most kids, he was taking apart and reassembling radios at the age of four and coming up with his own version of an Intel controller at 16. As an immigrant to America, Bechtolsheim helped found the legendary SUN Microsystems and was the second investor in a little startup called Google. (He didn't come up with the name, but told Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page they needed to have a name.) Today, in his early 60s, Bechtolsheim continues to be one of the top angel investors in the country, seeding other entrepreneurs in a virtuous economic cycle. It's worth keeping Bechtolsheim in mind as the US engages in another discussion about how to fix what's almost universally described as "our broken immigration system." Leaving aside the specifics of proposals being raised by the White House and in Congress to address both legal and illegal immigration, we should try to make sure whatever policy changes emerge promote US-based entrepreneurs like Bechtolsheim and those who depend on their innovation and drive. It's also worth noting that many of this country's and the world's top entrepreneurs have immigrant backgrounds. Immigrants to the US - including Bechtolsheim - are frequent winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/hamdi-ulukaya/">Hamdi Ulukaya</a>, the Turkish immigrant who built the yogurt giant Chobani, is one well-known winner and both he and Bechtolsheim were named US national winners during the years they competed. Many other Entrepreneurs Of The Year are immigrants who have settled in other countries - offering a reminder that America isn't the only nation competing for global talent. For instance, the most recent World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winner, representing Canada, is Murad Al-Katib, is a first-generation immigrant Canadian who left his civil service job in Saskatchewan in 2004 to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7b21a958-4de9-11e7-bfb8-997009366969">build a seed business</a> built around high-protein crops like lentils. Today, his company boasts a market capitalization of <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/canadian-takes-his-dream-from-basement-to-2b-wins-world-entrepreneur-of-the-year/wcm/aa146c20-8b21-40cb-a28c-1c8117f4a672">over $2 billion</a>. Overall, immigrants constitute 15% of the US workforce, but a quarter of the workforce's entrepreneurs, and some <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/10/immigrants-play-a-disproportionate-role-in-american-entrepreneurship">40% of new firms</a> have an immigrant affiliated with their start. According to the Kauffman Foundation, immigrants were almost twice as likely to start businesses in 2014 as native-born Americans. Against this backdrop, this is the critical question we need to ask: Since immigrants play such an outsized role in US business and job creation, shouldn't we be finding a way to encourage even more of them to come to our shores, stay and build their companies?And immigrants aren't just building small companies. In 2016, 40.2% of Fortune 500 firms had at least one founder who either immigrated to the US or was the child of immigrants. Those firms generated more than <a href="http://www.newamericaneconomy.org/research/nearly-6-million-workers-employed-at-immigrant-owned-businesses-new-report-finds/">$4.8 trillion in revenue</a>. A study from the National Foundation for American Policy indicated immigrants have started more than half of America's startup companies valued at $1 billion or more and are key members of management or product development teams in more than 70% of these companies. A report from the Partnership for a New American Economy found that immigrants start more than 25% of all businesses in seven of eight sectors of the economy that the US government expects to grow the fastest over the next decade.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson ReutersFILE PHOTO: President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend "Day of Prayer" service</div></div></div>Whatever immigration plan Democrats and Republicans eventually settle upon - whether it's a points-based system like the one the White House is proposing (that's used in many countries) or something else - we need to keep in mind that we're not the only country seeking to attract the world's best and brightest. Canada is r<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/trump-h1b-visa-silicon-valley-immigration.html?_r=0">evamping its visa system</a> to attract more entrepreneurs. The Mexican state of Jalisco has been luring Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. The "Start-Up Chile" program pays overseas entrepreneurs to come visit for six months.My own experience of working with entrepreneurs for nearly 30 years is that they have it in their DNA. If they don't get to ply their skills here in America, the first choice for most of them, they'll do it somewhere else. Take <a href="https://lsm.upenn.edu/node/104">Dinesh Patel</a>, born in Zambia, and an undergraduate in India, who came to the US for graduate school. He then founded TheraTech Inc., a biotechnology company that he took public in Utah and later<a href="http://utahstories.com/2013/02/immigrant-success-stories-iii-the-venture-capital-adventure/"> sold to Watson Industries</a>. Since then he's been one of the most prominent angel investors in biotech. I have no doubt that if his path to America had been blocked, he'd have built a great company in another country.We face this competition at a time when American entrepreneurship is going through a rough patch. New business creation fell by a third during the Great Recession and has been slow to recover. The World Bank <a href="https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/analysis?ID=E0A1321C-AE9A-4015-BD79-70B28E3E1E21">ranks the US only 49th</a> in the ease of starting new businesses. Our statutory corporate tax rate is the <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=Table_II1">highest in the world</a>, and our regulatory climate isn't always friendly to entrepreneurs. Other countries have taken advantage of our economic mistakes.But I worry about the cultural climate, too. We'll all be the poorer if would-be American entrepreneurs see the US as hostile to foreigners who, these days, enjoy a world of choices. Ugly rallies like the one in Charlottesville, Virginia this summer don't help and neither does any rhetoric that demonizes immigrants. In Virginia, for instance, immigrants comprise 12% of the state's population but <a href="http://www.newamericaneconomy.org/issues/entrepreneurship/">20% of its entrepreneurs</a>.America has been struggling for decades to develop an immigration system that meets our economic needs. It's a difficult debate but a healthy one. Let's make sure that whatever policy we settle upon, the tone of the debate remains welcoming to immigrants so the world's great innovators both want to come here and have a path to do so. If we don't preserve our reputation as the land of opportunity for all, the founders of the next Google may just plant roots beyond our shores, taking all their inventions, jobs and spinoffs with them.David Jolley, EY Americas Growth Markets LeaderGet the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tell-solar-eclipse-ruined-vision-permanent-damage-2017-8">Here's how to tell if the solar eclipse ruined your vision</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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