Avoiding ‘Helmet hair’ syndrome makes women look good but puts them at risk

AKU study finds that if the laws were enforced better most women would wear headgear.

KARACHI: Most women would rather put themselves at risk while travelling on a motorcycle than wear a helmet because of the way it looks. It just doesn’t go with their look. The ones who are amenable to the safety measure don’t end up wearing it because it’s just not done.

This phenomenon interested researchers at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) who found that while a majority of the women in the city are not opposed to using helmets while pillion riding, they avoid it mainly because they feel “awkward” or fear others on the road will “hoot at them”.

The study, ‘Perception of Pakistani women pillion riders about helmet use’, was conducted by the Department of Emergency Medicine at the AKUH. The study was run by Dr Junaid Razzak while Dr Uzma Rahim Khan was the senior instructor. “The objective was to assess the knowledge of women pillion riders on laws and the use of helmets especially since many accidents and lives could be saved by proper use of the headgear,” Khan says.

Volunteering with the study was Dr Afshan Khan, who analysed the data. “The most prominent reason women offered was that the helmet does not suit their apparel ie the shalwar kameez or the abaya, but if they were ticketed for not doing so they would be forced to wear it,” she explains.

On the law for wearing helmets, Uzma says the Manual for Motor vehicles Law by Advocate Hafizur Rehman clearly states: No person shall drive or ride the pillion seat of a two-wheeled motor vehicle except when s/he is wearing a helmet.

Study method

The study was conducted using five groups, each comprising six to eight female participants who live across the city and who use motorcycles as their “most common” means of transportation. The study, qualitative in nature (meaning that there were no pre-set options for answers instead interviewees note down their perceptions), does not depend on statistics but rather on the analysis of major themes emerging from the answers.

Questions and answers

Among some of the questions asked were: What do you think of motorcycles as a mode of transportation? Another tested their knowledge on bylaws, asking: What do you know about safety laws? Third, and perhaps most important, were their reasons for not wearing a helmet. All participants admitted to not doing so.

In response to the first question, most participants said that motorcycles were quick and speedy which is why they preferred them to public transport but they also found the bikes risky. To the second question, many admitted to not knowing much about the laws but they did say that they “wouldn’t mind wearing helmets if others did the same and it was made mandatory,” Uzma says. Some participants even suggested that perhaps women police officers should begin wearing helmets so others were encouraged. One participant suggested there could be a rental system for helmets especially for women who do not use them as much. Another put a religious spin on the issue, saying that if a fatwa was given, then everyone would feel obligated to wear the headgear.

Prices of helmets

Research coordinator for the Department of Emergency Medicine Jawaid Shah surveyed the market in the city and says that in areas such as Akbar Shah Market and Bahadur Shah Market non-standard (meaning they are not made in accordance or meet international standards of safety) helmets range between Rs600 to Rs1,500. On the other hand, standard helmets range between Rs1,100 and Rs2,500. However, in Defence, the prices rise to between Rs2,500 and  Rs4,500.

Emotional reactions

“Many women got emotional during the interviews,” says data collector for the study Sana Siddiqui. “One lady lost her son who was playing outside her house when a motorcyclist hit him and sped off. The boy suffered severe trauma to the head and died on impact,” she says, describing how the mother of the young boy burst into tears as she narrated the incident. Another participant’s mother suffered severe injuries from a motorbike accident. “The woman’s mother’s dupatta got stuck in the motorcycle’s wheel and nearly choked her as she fell on the road while the vehicle dragged her for a short distance. As a result she suffered severe injuries and had to undergo multiple surgeries and eventually lost her memory.” Another story was of a young girl who was riding with her father and her leg came under the wheel. She fractured the leg and was on bed rest for over two months.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2011.