I think the bicycle has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world.”
— American women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony in 1896 —

In 2008, I made and published the book Girls, Muslims & Motorcycles, together with writer, travel companion and then-lover, Gaea Schoeters. In text and photos, the book tells of numerous encounters and adventures during our overland motorbike journey through nine Muslim countries in Eurasia. There the seed was planted for my global image and storytelling project on women blazing trails with their vehicles, about mobility as a means of emancipation:

Women face obstacles moving in public spaces, be it prejudices, rigid traditions, absurd laws, violence. All over the world, courageous, creative women have found ways to overcome these obstacles. Using specific vehicles, they challenge gender stereotypes, change their society from within, gain independence, self-confidence and strength. With their trucks, bicycles, planes, boats, rickshaws and motorcycles, they flout and challenge whomever holds them back.
Travelling to villages, towns and remote mountain areas, I track down, interview and photograph some of the world’s wayward women. A few are over a hundred years old, one is merely eleven. Some are local or international celebrities, others unknown housewives. Yet each and every one of them is a trailblazing role model, inspiring others to follow suit.

Move she does, or Trailblazers as the book title will be, delves into a large array of ages, cultures, classes, backgrounds and all sorts of vehicles.
Through stories and portraits, I aim to unearth a part of untold her.story, showcase the courage, power and ongoing struggles of these often unsung she.roes, to inspire next generations, and create more understanding, sisterhood and equity. And to provide more real life role models.

STATE OF THINGS
Since 2022, I have met with mind-blowing women and groups in Germany, Iran, Belgium, Japan, Pakistan, England, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Italy and India, for a total of 37 stories. Though Algeria, France and Turkey are on still my wishlist, the book is now full.  
[ if you want to look into any of the previous or current journeys, you can follow me on my Polarsteps profile, a traveltracker/blog available on web and app. ]

The project consists of portraits, interviews, context stories, audio recordings and short videos of these trailblazers.

BOOK
End of May 2026, the project will become a BOOK published by Borgerhoff & Lamberigts (in Dutch, my native language) as Baanbreeksters — rijdende, varende, vliegende vrouwen die de wereld veranderen (= Trailblazers — riding, sailing, flying women who change the world).
Goal is to publish it also in German as Wegbereiterinnen, in Italian as Rompi-pista (still tossing with the title) and in English as Trailblazers (possibly with an Indian publisher). For French a good friend found this perfect title: Rebelles de la route.

EXHIBITIONS
— For 3 months in 2024-2025, there was the large exhibition Baanbrekers / Trailblazers in the Concertgebouw (Concerthall) of Bruges, Belgium.
32 large scale portraits, 3 audio stories (in Dutch), archive material of some women, and a ‘making of’-video.
[ on the exhibition link you will find a ‘making of’-video + 3 audio stories ]
— For 10 days in the summer of 2025, there was another exhibition Baanbreeksters / Trailblazers with 16 huge prints on canvas at Ons Huis in Gent, Belgium.
— From 17 November to 31 December 2025, Trailblazers is on show in the University of Koblenz, Germany, with eight huge canvasses and five prints.

TALKS
I also regularly give storytelling nights for general audiences or in schools, about the full project, or about a specific part of it, such as‘Wiegende heupen en draaiende konten’ (= ‘Rocking hips and twisting butts’) connecting the cycling women in Iran, Belgium, Italy, and the suffragettes.
Please get in touch if you want to book such a talk for your organisation.

Trui Hanoulle is a photographer, storyteller, graphic designer, writer, motorbiker, traveller, feminist, queer and coffeeholic. 
Move she does / Baanbreeksters / Trailblazers is her own initiative and creation, financed independently of any media or other agenda.