''Pedaling to Freedom'' ( 2007) is a 28-minute documentary directed by Vijay S. Jodha. The film shows how a simple thing, such as teaching women to ride a bicycle in a deprived part of the world, can have a life-changing impact. The documentary was made in English and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Content

''Pedaling to Freedom'' is a documentary film set in

Pudukkottai Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...

district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The film revisits a year-long initiative that took place there in 1993, in what used to be one of the poorest parts of the world. As a result of this initiative 230,000 people learnt to read and write, and over 100,000 women learnt to ride bicycles. Wages increased 1000%. It happened in the space of just one year and cost less than one and a half dollars per person. The film relies on archival stills, filmed footage as well as interviews with those who were associated with the project. Kannammal, an insurance company office assistant who took leave from work to volunteer for the project is featured prominently. She served as a central coordinator and at the end of the project, went back to her office where she remains an office assistant.

Mobility Mobility may refer to: Social sciences and humanities * Economic mobility, ability of individuals or families to improve their economic status * Geographic mobility, the measure of how populations and goods move over time * Mobilities, a conte ...

was seen as an important tool for

empowerment Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

and in addition to reading and writing, women were taught how to ride bicycles. The film captures the conditions in the district including

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

classes for women where men often gathered to crack jokes and taunt women trying to learn cycling. The film highlights the partnership between public and private bodies as well as work of 25,000 volunteers that made it possible.

References

{{reflist

External links

* P. Sainathbr>"Where there's a wheel, there's a way"
in ''

Everybody Loves a Good Drought ''Everybody Loves a Good Drought'' is a book, by P. Sainath, about his research findings of poverty in the rural districts of India. The book won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award. Sainath wrote the book by combining 84 articles that he had written ...

'', Penguin, 2002
UNESCO Document, Living Literacy; 2001, UNESCO, 2001

UNESCO Document on Pudukkottai & other literacy initiatives worldwide

Various Government of India documents dealing with education in India

Pedaling to Freedom trailer

How the bicycle became a symbol of women's emancipation
Indian short documentary films Documentary films about cycling 2007 short documentary films

Content

See also

References

External links