- In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, public transport is downright dangerous for women. So they take to scooters instead. And suddenly turn it into a motorbike club.
- For over 900 years, there have been gondoliers in Venice, a strictly regulated trade passed down from father to son. Until the daughters claim their place.
- A twelve-year-old girl surfs in a remote region near the Iran-Pakistan border. Her ambition: to become an international champion or, failing that, a doctor.
- In a village deep in the interior of Papua New Guinea, a tall British woman is honoured as a man for her unlikely courage. Single-handedly, she has paddled down the wild Sepik River.
- Every day, a cheerful Italian girl cycles past a Nazi sentry post. Hidden in her basket are secret messages, food and weapons for the resistance. The girl recently turned 101.
- Above wildlife parks in Tanzania, a cool-headed female pilot flies, low and slow. In village schools, she encourages girls to stand on their own two feet.
- Women bring bad luck at sea. That is still the prevailing view. But a female Belgian pilot is fighting a losing battle, and in Japan there are a handful of female fishermen.
- A women’s cycling club in Iran is defending a lawsuit brought against them, wearing their cycling helmets.
Across the globe, Trui Hanoulle seeks out defiant women of diverse ages, cultures, classes and backgrounds, using all manner of vehicles. ‘Move she does’ is her platform for these trailblazers, featuring photographs, text, audio and short videos. Inspired by her own travel experiences, she focuses on women all over the world who are breaking new ground with their vehicles, and on mobility as a means of emancipation.
Through the stories and portraits she creates, she aims to uncover a piece of untold history, to shine a spotlight on the courage, strength and ongoing struggle of these unsung heroines, to keep their inspiration rolling, locally and globally, and to foster greater curiosity, equality, justice, sisterhood, understanding and empathy.
Launched in 2022, the project is ongoing and has since been disseminated in various forms: articles, exhibitions, lectures, and, in May 2026, the book Baanbreeksters – Women who drive, sail and fly, changing the world, published by Borgerhoff & Lamberigts (in Dutch), featuring 29 stories and portrait photographs from nine countries in a unique, colourful layout.
The independent women in the book live in Germany, Iran, Belgium, Japan, Pakistan, England, Tanzania, Italy and India. In villages, towns, remote mountainous regions, with children, with partners, or alone. Some are now over a hundred years old (the bicycle couriers of the resistance in the Second World War), one is just eleven (an Indian skateboarder). A few are local or international celebrities, others are unknown housewives. And every single one of them is a role model and a trailblazer.
A global project such as this requires translations abroad. Following the publication of the Dutch-language book, Trui is seeking publishers for the English edition (Trailblazers, likely with an Indian publisher), the German edition (Wegbereiterinnen), the French edition (Rebelles de la route) and the Italian edition (Rompi-pista).
