Bicycles for Development

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the past twenty years, bicycles have gained increasing recognition from international development and aid organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for their potential to contribute to a range of social aims. While bicycles have a long history of being used for means beyond simple transportation, such as playing a role in women’s emancipation in both Global North and Global South contexts, mobility justice scholars have brought attention to how cycling is one form of transportation that is enmeshed within systems of inequality and power relations. Women in particular have been the focus of various NGOs distributing bicycles to enhance mobility as well as the target of UN policies and non-motorized transport policies in certain nations. While such policies and programs are well-intentioned, the lived experiences of women who use bicycles and the social and cultural contexts that enable and/or impinge on their mobility has been insufficiently reflected on. Programs and policies focused on women and bicycles must consider a range of broader social and political factors in order for the benefits of cycling to be accrued. In this policy brief, we use research from studies focused on bicycles-for-development (BFD) from the past eight years to draw attention to the interconnections between mobility justice and gender equity in Northern Uganda. It argues that for mobility justice and the benefits of bicycles to be achieved, tax exemptions on bicycles, infrastructure investment, and workshops on bicycle mechanics are needed. 

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