Saudi women jump with both feet into new diving school

Record ID: 1356997

  • Title: Saudi women jump with both feet into new diving school
  • Date: 19th September 2018
  • Summary: DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA (SEPTEMBER 15, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SAUDI WOMEN DIVERS PREPARING EQUIPMENT AT HALF MOON BEACH DIVER, ABRAR MOHAMED SAEED, TESTING OXYGEN TUBE AND MAKING OK HAND SIGNAL DIVER PREPARING OXYGEN TUBE ARABIC WRITING ON BLACK SCARF READING (Arabic): "Diver Zeina" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIVER, ABRAR MOHAMED SAEED, SAYING: "Diving is very, very, very nice, something very interesting. It is one of the most amazing types of sports. Swimming and diving are the most important ones when it comes to burning calories." DIVER ADJUSTING OXYGEN TANK SAEED TESTING OXYGEN TUBE AND MAKING OK HAND SIGNAL WOMEN DIVERS PREPARING EQUIPMENT DIVER MAKING OK HAND SIGNAL DIVER, MARYAM AL-MUA`ALEM, CHECKING EQUIPMENT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIVER, MARYAM AL-MUA`ALEM, SAYING: "I have been diving for three years. I used to dive outside the kingdom, in Sharm (el-Shiekh) in Egypt. I knew later on that the Red Sea is the best diving (spot), so I started to dive in Yanbu and Jeddah, and also in oceans. But nothing beats diving in the Red Sea." VARIOUS OF WOMEN DIVERS AND TRAINER WALKING INTO SEA WATER WITH SAUDI FLAGS SAEED AND TRAINER MAKING OK HAND SIGNAL VARIOUS OF WOMEN DIVERS UNDER WATER SAUDI FLAG ON SEA STRUCTURE UNDER WATER VARIOUS OF WOMEN DIVERS AMONG SEA STRUCTURES WITH POSTER ON OXYGEN TANK READING (Arabic): "We are all for the country" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIVER, JANNA ZAKI, SAYING: "It felt so good to break the fear barrier and dance and play with the sharks. I was in a situation when I grabbed its fin, it turned against me. I was so scared that I froze and tried to show the feeling that I'm not scared. I checked its eye pupil and it was not wide, so I knew it will not attack. I said: Deal! We are friends." VARIOUS OF DIVERS MOVING THROUGH STRUCTURES SUBMERGED UNDER WATER / FISH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIVER, DANA AL-QATARI, SAYING: "Diving is an amazing sport, it is wonderful. No one should ever miss this opportunity, everyone should try it. We are now developing in the kingdom, so the sport advanced and developed. There are no barriers now, and I advise everyone to dive and try this beautiful sport." VARIOUS OF FISH AND UNDER WATER STRUCTURES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIVER, FATIMA AL-SAEED, SAYING: "When you head to the sea, you should have a target for the day. Your target should be protecting the marine life, in addition to you enjoy the feeling of the beautiful nature." WOMEN DIVERS
  • Embargoed: 3rd October 2018 12:08
  • Keywords: Women divers in Saudi Arabia Diving in the Red Sea Saudi women Women rights in Saudi Arabia
  • Location: DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA
  • City: DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Diving,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0018YAK6L1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Checking the equipment and waiving the OK hand signal, Saudi women divers training at the Half Moon Beach in the eastern city of Dammam say the new hobby helped them overcome their fears.
    It has only been a few months since the authorities in the kingdom ended a decades-long ban on female drivers, and the aspiring women are now venturing into the new adventures under the water.
    Only one year ago, the women divers were only allowed to practice their favourite hobby with their male relatives, with some of them travelling abroad to nearby beaches in Egypt and other parts of the world.
    But as restrictions on various activities for women started to ease, a school in the eastern province of Dammam is currently training nearly 40 women to become certified professional divers.
    Divided into several groups, women divers are being trained on different levels. While some trainees are still at the entry level, some has already obtained diving certificates and working to become certified diving instructors.
    They fearlessly walk into the sea waters with their male trainer, carrying the Saudi flag.
    The driving ban's end, ordered a year ago by King Salman and implemented in June, is part of sweeping reforms pushed by his powerful son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to transform the economy of the world's top oil exporter and open up its cloistered society.
    The lifting of the prohibition, which for years drew international condemnation and comparisons to the Taliban in Afghanistan, was welcomed by Western allies as proof of a new progressive trend in Saudi Arabia.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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