Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, where even the well-to-do people are afraid to travel, these three Pakistani women in wheelchairs are traveling to Egypt alone. Smiling in their beautiful, colorful attires, these wonder-ladies seem to be having the time of their lives.
The three women are Tanzila, Afshan and Zarghona. Tanzeela hails from Lahore, Afshan hails from Peshawar and Zarghona lives in Quetta. Disability brought them together and now they are traveling around the world in a wheelchair without a helper.
Tanzila is the leading light of this group 30-year-old Tanzila hails from Bachchan. She has no legs below the knees and has been in a wheelchair all her life. But despite her disability, so far she has traveled to at least 20 countries across the world.
This year, Tanzila visited Turkey but she traveled alone for the first time. After seeing Tanzeela’s pictures on Instagram, Afshan and Zarghona contacted her and suggested going on a tour together.
32-year-old Afshan from Peshawar says that girls with disabilities are looked upon with pity in Pakistan and it is a far cry to include them in decisions.
“Why not show the world that if there is courage, something is impossible? No, and how can women with disabilities travel to other countries and follow guidelines?” Afshan says.
Along with Tanzila and Zarghona, she made a WhatsApp group and started planning the tour in February. It took them five months to plan the trip and their tickets got canceled three times.
They faced many problems but these extraordinary women did not hire a travel agent and arranged everything themselves. Eventually, they gathered in Islamabad from where they boarded a flight to Egypt.
36-year-old Zarghona, who belongs to Quetta, had never traveled alone to a foreign country before.
She previously traveled to three countries to work with groups.
“Even if I go somewhere in Quetta, I have to take someone with me. I was encouraged to see Tanzila and Afshan and I also dared to travel alone. If they can travel alone, why shouldn’t I?” Zarghona said.
Tanzila, Afshan, and Zarghona have visited Sharm el-Sheikh, Alexandria, and Cairo in Egypt on their own. In the future, the three plan to visit more countries and want to include more women with disabilities in their group travels.
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