Cyclist Samar Khan says faced harassment in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s award-winning cyclist Samar Khan said that she was harassed while cycling in the federal capital.

Sitting on her bicycle, Khan, 26, filmed herself in the middle of the road after the incident and said, “cycling is not safe for women in Pakistan”.

Giving the details of the incident, Samar Khan said while she was cycling in Islamabad, a man who was on a bike “groped her, touched her inappropriately and sped away”.

She said she attempted to give him a chase but couldn’t as she was on a bicycle. Giving description of the harasser, she said he was in a maroon shirt. He was possibly coming from work as he was carrying a bag, she said.

She pointed out she doesn’t blame anyone, neither men nor the government for whatever happened to her. However, she went on to question her followers as to how they can ignore such incidents while witnessing them happen to a woman in public.

“At the time I was being harassed there were other people around driving by but they chose to ignore and move past, and not react,” she said.

Samar Khan became the first woman to cycle 800 kilometres to reach the Biafo Glacier in northern Pakistan in August 2016. She cycled to an elevation of 4,500m on top of the glacier.

After the achievement, she was quoted by GlacierHub as saying, “In order to change the mindsets of our people, I chose to cycle on glaciers.” “I wanted people to realise the importance of what we have, how to preserve it, and what our duties are toward these majestic landmarks.”

Police contacts Samar Khan

A spokesperson of the Islamabad Police said on Friday that the SHO and SP of the police station, who jurisdiction the incident happened, have contacted the cyclist. He also added that the police was investigating the incident with the help of the CCTV footage.