‘Women Beyond Boundaries’ completed an epic 98 day, 23000 kilometre road journey from India to London on 28th October 2015. On reaching the Capital, Nidhi Tiwari, Rashmi Koppar and Soumya Goyal, the three pioneers behind the project, were felicitated by Baroness Sandip Verma, Minister for International Development, Equalities and Women at the Department for International Development (DFID); Vijay Goel, Chairman of the Asian Business Association (ABA) and Shuchita Sonalika of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) who hosted a panel debate at the London Chamber of Commerce on Thursday 29th October 2015.
The trio, who left Delhi on 23rd July spoke about their 98-day adventure through 18 countries including a flooded Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, France and England, among others, in their refurbished Scorpio off road vehicle on loan to them by Mahindra First Choice. “This was an all woman road expedition to empower, enable and encourage people like us,” said project leader Nidhi Tiwari “along the way we learnt a lot about the communities, food and culture of different countries and were surprised at the level of female emancipation we found, including meeting the first horseback shepherdess in Kyrgyzstan”.
The ‘Women Beyond Boundaries’ project was an endeavour to
– plan and execute road journeys that would enable, empower and encourage women drivers and travellers to explore new lands, news strengths in themselves and forge new connections
– role model ideals of self-reliance, determination, grit and spirit of pursuit to inspire young people to venture out and conquer the unconquered
– to question stereotypes regarding women and their capabilities
– to tell young girls that youth is about realizing one’s potential and tapping inner strength.
Further information Women Beyond Boundaries can be found at http://www.womenbeyondboundaries.com/ and their expedition is also documented on their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/womenbeyondboundaries