Hi folks! My coauthor Monique Leparleen and I, both local residents, are sharing a free chapter online from her memoir growing up in a remote Kenyan tribe, Daughter of the Leopard. It’s up for the rest of Bike Month through World Bicycle Day on June 3, on our website at https://daughteroftheleopard.com/?page_id=525 in image format.
As in so many cultures, bicycles are among the things that were completely taboo for girls when Monique was growing up. But when she was 4 or 5 years old, a neighbor Maasai girl–an ambassador’s daughter–moved in next door to Monique’s rural farmhouse, and challenged all of her assumptions about Maa-speaking girls, freedom, and bikes. The chapter follows what happened when Monique attempted to get her powerful, wealthy father to get her a bike.
We have a great many refugees and immigrants here who came from cultures with similar restrictions. It’s really wonderful to see local efforts to empower kids with bikes regardless of gender! I also heard on NPR a few years ago about an effort specifically for refugee women here to help them finally learn to ride bikes. I can’t find that article, or that group! If anyone knows who those folks are, Monique and I would both love to reach out to them. Spoiler:(No, she still cannot ride. But she made sure her daughters got bikes!)
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