Breaking Stereotypes – Meet Rani Wilfred and ‘Women Wonderful’

October 25, 2017

Rani Wilfred - Wonderful Women — Rani Wilfred

When Rani Wilfred, a property manager and biking enthusiast, shared her desire to offer free biking lessons on a Royal Enfield Bullet to women in the city, she was amazed by the response received.

This is a part of a bigger initiative that Wilfred, 54, has started through Women Wonderful, a group that she created for women to connect and learn from each other.

“I grew up very independently around nature. Animal rescue is a huge part of my life. My father taught me how to read and that opened up new vistas for me. I manage properties and when I started my own company, I became a workaholic. My wake-up call came six years ago when the doctors told me that I have a cyst which could be cancerous. Thankfully, after surgery they found out that I didn’t have cancer. But, I decided then, that I must live my life. I started dancing, I learnt how to ride a bike, I got a jeep and formed this group too, ” says Wilfred.

Currently, she is organising the schedule for the classes which will commence from next week. According to Wilfred, responses came pouring in, not just from Pune, but also from different cities. She is also planning to extend this initiative to Delhi and Bangalore.

“There are so many stereotypes regarding women who ride motor bikes. I’ve been made fun of when I started riding my Bullet and people would constantly put me down. But, such barriers are meant to be broken. Your age or any other factor doesn’t matter at all. Learning something new is always liberating,” she adds.

The community formed by Women Wonderful serves as a platform for women to interact with other women as well as to share their products, business services and experiences. “There is also a system called ‘Buddy Watch’. If you’re a part of the group and travelling alone, landing in the wee hours of the morning, you can be picked up or dropped off by one of the women in the group. This extends to providing medicines and offering child care services as well. We seek our potential here.”

Wilfred further adds that they are also in the process of setting up a foundation where they can take their initiatives further to more women.

“I want to turn this into a global platform. We have to value our existence. I’ve been blessed in my life and I’d like to help women, children and seniors. We’re planning our next event which will revolve around saris which will feature women breaking the stereotypes of what people think beauty standards should be.”