Zarifa Dag – Pike & Hurricane

Bike lanes: the path towards sustainability in Malta?

Zarifa Dag — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 23:07:24 +0000

What if Malta’s temporary solutions are replaced by permanent solutions? What if the state focuses on reconstructing continuous bike lanes instead of flyovers? It is worth wondering what kind of impact this would have on traffic congestion in Malta, and in return, if there would be an increase in the feeling of safety among Maltese pedestrians?

Maltese traffic

Being a university student in Malta with a busy timetable, starting early in the morning is an enormous headache––I have to wake up two hours before catching a bus for a ten minute bus ride, which often ends up lasting 45 minutes due to the morning rush hours.

Traffic congestion, characterised by queueing vehicles, exaggeratedly long travel times for short distances, and slower speeds, has been a major issue in Malta for a tremendous amount of time. The problem presented by traffic congestion has led to severe accidents among vehicles, pedestrians and the limited amount of cyclists on the roads.

In the last decade, the amount of cars has increased up to more than 350 000. This is more than half of the population of Malta which is currently around 430 000. This is why Malta has been ranked second for the highest number of cars per inhabitant in the European Union in a statistical research report by Eurostat in 2017.

These already high numbers of vehicles have increased throughout the years due to a number of counterproductive incentives lacking longsightedness regarding the effects such incentives would bring. In recent years Malta’s main solution to traffic congestion has been to create more space by wider roads and an increased amount of car lanes. A very recent project relating to this is the Kappara Junction Project, which was meant to reduce traffic at major points around Malta by 50% by building flyovers. However, as of now, it can be argued that the Maltese population is waiting to experience any real results in the form of alleviating traffic congestion.

Scrutinising the North

Public transport, which consists of mainly public buses, are used by one fourth of the Maltese population. Commuters using the public transport in Malta argue that the public transportation is not efficient enough. However, I will argue the contrary. Legislatives need to adjust certain factors on the roads and let the users feel safer on the streets. Malta is a small country indeed, yet this does not mean that the state should keep focusing on projects targetting the infrastructure with the aim of, for example, widening roads. Instead, there should be a focus on encouraging commuters to bike for instance.

Furthermore, the benefits of alternative ways of commuting do not end at reduced congestion levels. Bikes occupy less space, hence there is more space for other commuters; a bike does not use fossil fuels, as most vehicles do; and finally, cycling keeps the user active with added health benefits. According to Emilia Simeonova, an Assistant professor at Carey Business School, Maryland, U.S., there has been a major decline of asthma attacks amongst children living in Stockholm. The decline began after the implementation of the congestion tax, and the beneficial effects are sai to be due to the reduction of air pollution, ever since the tax legislation came into force in Stockholm.

A shift like this in commuting practices obviously requires further planning and investment. But this would be investing in a more sustainable future. We can always look at the Nordic countries to confirm that the construction of bike lanes and the implementation of campaigns for more sustainable traffic practices reduces traffic congestion indeed.

Adaptable initiatives for cycling

If bike lanes are to be properly introduced in Malta, there must be a transport system that regulates bike congestion during rush hour. An example of a system like this is the Green Wave in Copenhagen, which allows cyclists to pick up their cycling speed to reduce traffic. As cyclists have no velocimeters to show their speed per hour, green lights have been installed on cycling lanes. Cyclists know that they are cycling 20km/h by seeing the green light flickering, and if the green light is not showing up, users will know they need to speed up their pace.

What I have come to understand during my exchange in a Nordic country is that achieving permanent changes for more sustainable traffic in Malta requires longterm planning and investment in the future. Transport management education should already start in kindergarten, as in the Finnish education system, where traffic safety awareness training begins early on. This type of systematic learning has not yet been very evident in Malta, as the main focus has been on infrastructure. Yet, we should be inspired by the examples of others, such as the Nordic countries where traffic safety and reliability encourages younger generations to reach the goals of sustainable development.

By Zarifa Dag

Photo Credit:

Bikes by Allen Holt, CC BY 2.0

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Women’s Leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Zarifa Dag — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 19:45:25 +0000

What comes to your mind when you think of a “leader”?

For three women leading various organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ‘leadership’ is synonymous with patriarchy, rape and war crimes. Rape was a common practice for soldiers in the Bosnian War and more than a decade after the conflict, some feminists claim that the acts of rape were perpetrated as genocidal acts. Others argue that rape is a tool in every war zone and that every military action is sexist.

Despite the trauma from the past, the women leaders in Bosnia are in charge of organizations aiming to help women in the post-war areas in Bosnia.

Leadership as Patriarchal Dictatorship

For Amra Pandžo, Danka Zelić and Sehija Dedović the word ‘leadership’ is a word they despise as it reminds them of a powerful dictator, hierarchy and dominance, especially on females. Amra, Danka, and Sehija struggle to call themselves leaders, as archaic leadership in Bosnia lead to the humiliation of many innocent citizens by means of a genocide, or rather ethnic cleansing.

Amra is a muslim woman leading the ‘Small Steps’ peacebuilding organisation in Sarajevo, Danka is a Catholic and a former female police officer leading UG Grahovo, and Sehija is a muslim woman with formal theological education, leading Nahla(bee). These organisations promote women’s human rights, peacebuilding and settlement during and after war.

All three women have been prominent leaders within their organisations and claim that they had no intentions of becoming leaders and this progressed throughout the years and their initiative to defend human rights, and eventually they self-trained themselves for leadership roles within their communities.

Yet, Zilka Spahić Šiljak’s article ‘Women, Religion and Peace Leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovina ‘ states that for the three women the definition of a leader is, someone who knows how to persuade others on peace and having the vision, courage, and faith to act within their communities.

On the 11th of each month the Women of Srebrenica gather in the main square of Tuzla to stand in silent protest of their missing and dead men. Photo: The Advocacy Project

Humiliation – rape for being a woman or for ethnicity?

Rape is severe torture and aggression to the intimate self and the dignity of a human being.

The book “Mass Rape: The war against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina” describes how the ultimate torture that can be caused to a woman is by violently invading her inner space. This results in loss of dignity, shame, loss of identity, and self-determination or self-confidence.

Humiliation in this case is not only targeted at women but also at men. Women were a crucial target because women in many cultures are extremely important due to the perception of a woman as the pillar in family structure. Therefore rape became a different way of waging war between different ethnicities in general. Perpetrators ritualize rape as a means to show the men of the other ethnicity that they are incompatible and are not able to ‘protect their women’. On the other hand, many victims of wartime rape were not supported by their husbands neither as they were to blame and were ostracized by ending relationships. The women were silenced and never had the chance to fight for their rights.

Unfortunately, the UN did not acknowledge rape as a war crime until 2008. In wartime and among soldiers, rape has always been embedded. A typical excuse used to justify rape is that soldiers have been in the battlefield for an extensive period, leading to a situation where the men have urges to be fulfilled. And this is what we have come to accept – a common excuse.

Giving Women a Voice Again

Amra, Danka and Sehija use the ethics of religion to teach peacebuilding in their organisations. All three peacebuilders recognised the needs in their community, of which; deconstructing the media’s idea of Islam as a terrorism, submission and oppression, helping returnees to settle back in Bosnia, and including women in recognised organisations which are dominated by men. This has helped many women to regain their voices, as the peacebuilders did not want professional and experienced people to lead in their organisations, but wanted volunteers from all over Bosnia, to exchange knowledge and build support together.

Erasing women by traumatising them by war crimes such as rape is the same as erasing a community.

On the other hand, observing how Amra, Danja and Zehija work and strive for a better definition of leadership instills hope in their communities. This provides them a sense that Bosnia can become a better place than it was before the war. The world needs more of these prominent leaders, who use their traumas to teach others wisdom, and thus not letting their horrific experiences revolve into aggression and revenge.

This article is based on the article “Women, Religion and Peace Leadership in Bosnia and Herzegovina” by Zilka Spahić Šiljak and the books “Mass Rape: The war against women in Bosnia-Herzegovina” edited by Alexandra Stiglmayer and “Bosnia: A Short History” by Noel Malcolm.

By Zarifa Dag

Photo Credit:

Sarajevo, Béatrice BDM, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Women of Srebenica, The Advocacy Project, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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