The first Women’s Dive Day, held in July 2014, empowered dive facilities and professionals to encourage ladies to pursue certifications. It marks its twelfth yr in 2026, signaling not a momentary development, however severe longevity. “Now we see women advancing into advanced scuba, Nitrox, and even marine research. Once they’re invited in, they don’t stop at entry level,” says van Well.
The ladies on the shore
With PADI offering the framework, leaders like Rose Huizenga, based mostly in Gili Air, Indonesia, have run with this concept. An extended-time diver herself, Huizenga based Coral Catch, a corporation that goals to supply coral restoration scholarships together with PADI dive certifications to 100 Indonesian ladies by 2030. Her mission was formed by greater than a decade of working in diving and conservation, throughout which she hardly ever noticed Indonesian women within the water.
Her inspiration first hit within the pandemic, when tourism crashed in Indonesia and conservation funding disappeared. “What if we created the first completely female, local coral restoration team in Indonesia?” she remembers. The thought was instantly met with skepticism. “My husband told me, ‘I love you, but that’s crazy. These girls can’t be away from their families. Can they even dive in hijab?”
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Her intestine advised her that the will was there, however that lady didn’t have the entry, and the obstacles had been just too excessive. She posted a name for curiosity on-line. Within three months, greater than 150 ladies from throughout Indonesia utilized. “When we put women who shared the same love for the ocean together, something remarkable happened. They formed a sisterhood.”
That sisterhood took form in a single of Indonesia’s most idyllic and guarded marine areas. Set east of Bali, close to Lombok, the Gili Islands—Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air—are a trio of small islands recognized for his or her white-sand seashores and glass-clear waters, a diving destination usually known as the turtle capital of the world. It’s right here that Coral Catch’s affect is seen locally.