The Maldives is 99% water and more than 80% of its 1,190 islands are just one metre above sea level. Yet many young Maldivians, particularly girls, do not know how to swim. The implications of this go far beyond basic life skills; it stops local people connecting with their local habitat, which needs their protection, and blocks women from accessing work in the two main industries: fishing and tourism.
Research from 2012 suggested that only 10% of 15- and 16-year-olds living in the Maldives could swim. Women and girls are most affected; girls are three times more likely to feel unconfident swimming in the sea than boys, and 50% more likely to have never snorkelled, according to research among school students by the Ocean Women project.
A loss of the traditional lifestyle that’s more connected to the sea is partly to blame, says Flossy Barraud, the principal collaborator at conservation charity Manta Trust and a leader of its Ocean Women project, which aims to empower more females to access the water.
Other social trends contribute to a general lack of swimming skills among Maldivians. Today both parents often work, leaving them with less time to spend in the water with their children, says Aminath Zoona, the founder of Salted Ventures Swimmers, a swimming school in Malé. “Because most parents are too busy to be actively involved in teaching them [children] to swim, they choose not to send them and keep them home.”
There are a number of social and cultural reasons why girls are deterred from swimming. “It’s mostly overprotection,” says Zoona, who is also the co-leader of the Ocean Women programme.
But social stereotypes are also a factor. On some islands, girls who swim are considered tomboys, “and that’s not seen as a positive thing”, says Barraud. “It’s tying back to that belief – that’s stronger in some places than others – that girls should be home more, not outside hanging around like boys do.”