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Women in Diving | #BreakingTheBias
This International Women’s Day, we’d like to shout-out to all the amazing women divers who are #breakingthebias one dive at a time! If you are one of them – you go girl!
Based on PADI 2021 Worldwide Corporate Statistics, 38% of certified scuba divers worldwide are women and that’s just a 2% increase since 2015! So, we thought why not ask our fellow mermaids to share their experience and inspire many more women to expand their world, take the plunge and fall in love with the whole new world down under.
6 women divers were asked the same question – “What does diving mean to you?” And here’s what they had to say!
Jahnavi Deodhar | PADI OW Instructor
“Diving to me is setting myself free, it's liberating. Though it might sound slightly contradictory it is also being connected. Connected to an astonishing world just beneath the surface waiting for us to be explored. First few minutes after descending into this world are the best moments, a world of silence surrounds you, the absolute wonder with which a new adventure begins, opening your heart, mind, and soul. I had never imagined it before but at this moment diving for me is my future and my life.”
Jahnavi’s most memorable moment: It’s a cluster of enchanting dive stories, every dive has been unique and a mesmerizing adventure. That's what makes diving so interesting. Right from a rescue operation during my very first open water dive to having a hawksbill turtle as my dive buddy. During my first open water dive back in October 2019 in Malvan India, we came across a Brown Banded Bamboo shark that was trapped in a ghost net fighting for its life. While it was incredibly heartbreaking to see that poor creature struggle, the joy of rescuing him was indescribable.
Marwa El-Agroudy | PADI Advanced OW Diver
“Diving for me started off as something new to try but it ended up becoming an addiction. I totally forget about the world whenever I’m diving, it is just hard to think about anything else when I find myself surrounded by the blue and all different types of corals and fish. I simply let myself get immersed in that captivating world and take it all in. It is usually so quiet down there except for the sound of my own breathing and that feels so calming. Diving took an entirely new turn for me the first time I took a camera underwater. The more pictures and videos I took the more interested I became in the species I was photographing and after a while I found myself trying to learn more about them and I absolutely love that. Sharing what I see underwater with my family and friends is so rewarding as it allows me to offer them a glimpse of that beautiful world and teach them something new about it. I’m grateful for diving in that sense because it constantly teaches me about our seas, oceans, and the abundance of life that inhabits them.”
Marwa’s most memorable moment: I was diving the Hole in the Wall dive site in Khor Fakan - UAE where we basically go into an underwater hole in the rocks and exit from the other side, hence the name. We usually need to do that one diver at a time and when it was my turn once I entered the hole a sea turtle cut me off, so casually, from my left side and swam in front me while escorting me till I exited the hole. It wasn’t shy at all and it swam so close to me I almost touched it. It was such a lovely and exciting encounter.
Lina El-Husseini | PADI OW Diver
“Diving has given us a way to breathe under water, a fascinating and peculiar sensation I must say. I’ve always loved the ocean, but diving has given me access to a place of calm, a rare treasure for introverts like me. It’s a place where order exists in a myriad of a million aquatic soap operas happening at the same time. My husband and I are both fond of the water and all the aquatic treasure it holds so on a dive”
Lina’s most memorable moment: Once, on our way back to the shore, we came across an aqua highway, squid, cuttlefish, all types of fish were just swimming all around in every direction; the water was so beautifully warm, and the sun rays were shining through the shallow waters illuminating all the minerals in our rich waters. And in that moment, I wrapped my fingers around my husbands arm and felt a sense of calm and spirituality no anxiety would be able to take over. Sweet dreams are made of this…
Betsy Stanley | PADI Scuba Diver
“To be honest I never thought I'd ever go Diving. I was so comfortable snorkeling that it never crossed my mind. The day I dived for the first time, is when I was really able to comprehend how to try and take control of uncomfortable situations in my life too, given your only chance to survive is – to breathe, stay calm and move on! Being underwater is very calming, and that to me is an escape from the ordinary.”
Betsy’s most memorable moment: Memorable moment for me would be my Dive in Maldives. As a newbie you’re constantly looking around trying to explore. There was a time when I saw a white tip shark coming towards us. I was mind blown. It was amazing and crazy at the same time!
Dorota Parol | Divemaster, EFR Instructor
“I tried to put this in words, but it turns into an essay. Then I thought about me putting together my 8000-jigsaw puzzle... Not being able to find the piece... Finding it... Putting the last one... And staring with all those feelings onto the completed picture. So yeah - Diving is like the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle.”
Dorota’s most memorable moment: I think for many it is their first dive in the open water. For me, it was the feeling of belonging, peacefulness and flying that I experienced there. It never left me.
Sneha Shetty | Divemaster, EFR Instructor
“Diving is like therapy to me. It’s a place where I find peace and I am closet to my deepest thoughts and my subconscious mind. My favorite part of the dive is that first moment of descend - that moment when the outside world goes mute and what follows is the sudden awareness of breath and an addictive calmness. It often leaves me wondering if just I left reality or just entered one!”
Sneha’s most memorable moment: "Oh there are so many! But there is one that stuck with me for many days and kept reliving it in dreams even weeks after the dive. It was my first dive at Pirate Wreck in Ras Al Khaimah, a well-preserved beautiful deep-sea ‘dhow’ (a traditional Arabic sailing vessel) wreck lying erect at 46 meters. This wreck was discovered by fluke by a resident scuba diver who was recovering a fishing cage/net for his fisherman friend. No one knows when or how this massive dhow sank but there is a huge cavity/hole (almost 3-4 meters length and 2-3 feet wide) on the stern side which most likely caused the dhow to sink. In one of the dives, we found some Emeron shampoo sachets (a Malaysian brand) with a 2005 expiry so she probably sank between ~2000-2005. It’s the mysteriousness of the wreck and the strange remains that makes me go back often, despite the strong currents and next to zero visibility."
We hope these amazing experiences inspires you all to begin your journey to the underwater world and continue exploring new depths and challenges! If you’d like to experience your first breath underwater or become a certified scuba diver, here are some options for you.
Happy International Women’s Day! More power to you!
- Team DiveCampus
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