PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Sunday organised a Female Cycling Rally with the aim to empower women entrepreneurship in the province. The event was organised by the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department in collaboration with the Gender Reform Action Plan. The rally was attended by teachers, students and regional cricket players because before the rally final of a cricket match had been played between local clubs there whose chief guest was former cricketer Shahid Khan Afridi. The chief organiser of the rally praised the environment and arrangements provided to facilitate young female cyclists in Peshawar. Talking to Daily Times Khwaja Zahirudin a social worker said that the purpose of the event was to create a healthy environment for females to let them have a situation in which they may lead their life with a positive purpose. He said 20 different teams from different parts of Pakistan participated in the rally on such a quick call. This was not a race but a demonstration with groups of girls riding cycles to support the freedom of walk in society, he added. He said the people of KP also appreciated female cyclists. It left a message for the students that women in their homes also need fresh air to live a healthy life. Upon the question why cycling for women empowerment was held he answered that cycling was a very effective means of exercise and leads to better health conditions with fresh minds in no time. Plus cycling was cheaper than other ways and techniques to motivate girls on such a short call. He said good work and positive activity need a fresh mind. He advised the girls to use the cycle as source of transport in the campus or colony it will not only make them strong but they will be able to cover the distance quickly. He termed need to support the cause of women’s empowerment was the main theme or motive behind such a nice and peaceful demonstration. He appreciated the role of the KP government in their support for allocating such a brilliant awareness demonstration in a healthy environment. Talking to Daily Times Alina Khan a young girl who participated in the rally from Peshawar said that “my family supports me to ride a cycle for peace. Because they knew that there is nothing bad when girls do cycling to keep themselves fresh and active”. She added I don’t compete cycle races but it’s a nice trend to support a cause by participating in a healthy physical activity and the women of KP must be proud it. The girls from different parts of Pakistan participated on the call of Khwaja Zahirudin to support the women empowerment initiatives taken by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government, she said. Another participant from Abbottabad, Farzana Qazi, said that often it was considered that the people of KP did not educate daughters which was a very false assumption. Today girls from all over KP come and read in different institutions as we have friends who also support such extra curriculum social activities all over Pakistan, she added. She said the people in KP especially women need to adopt modern trends in order to upgrade their life standards. She appreciated the efforts of Khwaja Zahirudin and the Men’s cricket club for staging such a healthy activity to defuse the environment of conservatism and extremism. Meanwhile, the Provincial Legislator, Sobia Khan, has called upon the youth not to confine themselves to books only but to take part in sports and positive activities. This, she said during the prize distributing ceremony of the cycle race held here at the Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Sunday. The Quaid-e-Azam Day Cycle Race was held under the auspices of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cycle Association (KPCA)which started from the Northern By Pass and finished at the same place. Syed Azhar Ali Shah, the Secretary General of Pakistan Cycle Federation (PCF) Wasil Farooq and Sohail Khan formally inaugurated the race on the northern by pass. The race comprised of two categories, 14 km for juniors and 28km for seniors. Later, a prize distribution ceremony was held at PPC, in which the Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Sobia Khan was the Chief Guest, who after distributing cash prizes and trophies among the winners and runners up cyclists, said that sports were the only way to bring the youth of the province towards positive activities. She urged the provincial government to construct playgrounds particularly cycling tracks (Velodromes) not only in Peshawar but also across the province in order to divert the attention of the youth towards sports saying it would help in the reduction of negative activities and give a good and soft image of Pakistan to the rest of the world. Those were bestowed with prizes included Ghulam Nabi, Nabeel and Amanullah, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the junior category while in the senior category Imran met stood 1st, Saleem Khan 2nd and Tanzeel Khan remained the 3rd position holder.