Yes. taking up cycling is as significant as their taking up literacy because cycling gives them mobility, freedom and independence which together give the confidence to stand on their own legs. Initially, Sheela Rani Chunkath, a district collector, in 1991 intended to train female literacy activists so as to enable them to spread literacy among in the interior. Therefore, she included mobility as a part of the literacy drive. However, cycling played a much more significant role than literacy in the lives of the womenfolk. It gave them confidence, freedom and independence to eke out an independent existence. Cycling helped them stay attached to their ** and family and yet be financially independent. It also helped the **** to share family responsibilities with the menfolk.
