While the Maldives is a nation of about 1,200 small coral islands in the Indian Ocean, many of its residents – particularly women and girls – miss out on jobs in marine conservation and tourism because they don’t know how to swim. 

Their safety also is endangered, as most Maldivians live a short distance from the ocean and must travel regularly among islands using government-operated ferries and private speedboat services. “They must be prepared for any incident that could occur during their many journeys from one island to another,” says Aminath Zoona, the first Maldivisan woman to be an accredited swim-and-snorkel instructor.

She trains women as part of the Ocean Women program pilot launched by the Manta Trust, a UK-based marine conservation nonprofit. At an early age, her father, a professional diver, took her to the beach in the nation’s capital, Malé, and taught her to swim. She eventually coached her younger siblings and cousins, and later her own three children.