A girl sits with her surfboard.
A girl sits with her surfboard.
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Asia

Bangladeshi surfer girls turn the tide on tradition

In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a small surf club is giving girls an escape from traditional expectations. Meet the two young surfers forging their own path.

Published 7 June 2022 12:42pm
By Rhiona-Jade Armont
Source: SBS
Image: In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a small surf club is giving girls an escape from traditional expectations.
Watch the documentary 'Bangla Surf Girls' via SBS On Demand
here
.

Along one of the longest uninterrupted beaches in the world, two young surfer girls paddle out past the break.

The conditions out here are rough and unruly, but these fearless teens cling to their boards, waiting for the perfect wave to ride back to shore.

Here, in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, Shobe and Ayesha are not your average 13-year-olds.

“Everybody says I live like a boy,” Shobe says.

“I go everywhere wearing a t-shirt.

“I’ve been surfing since childhood, so people are used to seeing me like this”
A girl paddling on a surfboard.
Shobe is determined to pursue surfing as a career.
Girls in Cox’s Bazar are often expected to follow a set path, including working from a young age, marrying early and bearing children.

Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world.

Parents who struggle to earn a steady income often marry off their teenage daughters, despite it being illegal until age 18.

According to UNICEF, 51 per cent of young women in Bangladesh were married before their 18th birthday. 13 million were married before age 15.
A group of people standing on surfboards on the beach.
A group of young surfers train on a beach in Cox's Bazar.
Shobe’s older sister was married at 13.

“If my life is the same as my sister’s then it’s worth nothing,” she says.

These girls often come from poorer households and are more likely to miss out on a full education.

But a small surf club has given girls like Shobe a chance to change their fate and do something they love.

“Surfing is...completely intoxicating,” Shobe says.
Four people carrying surfboards.
The surf club is the only one in Cox's Bazar that teaches girls how to surf.
Blazing a new trail has meant breaking tradition, and girls like Ayesha have fought hard battles at home.

Her father has been the toughest to win over.

“If I tell [people] my girls do surfing they ridicule us,” he says.

“I want a good future for them. I don’t want to live from their earnings. Now that they are 14 and 15 years old, I have to think about their marriages.”
An aerial photograph of a wave and a surfer.
Ayesha waits for a wave at a beach in Cox's Bazar.
For Ayesha, the pressures at home only drive her further away.

“I don’t feel good at home. That’s why I spend as much time as I can at friends' home or school.

Ultimately, she always ends up where she feels the most free.

“My best friend is the sea.”

Surfing is...completely intoxicating.
Shobe
For Shobe and Ayesha, surfing provides a future filled with possibility.

They’ve excelled in local competitions, but the next stage is seeking out opportunities to compete on the international circuit.

Shobe in particular dreams of one day being a famous surfer and representing Bangladesh.
A girl holding a trophy.
Shobe won a surfing competition in Cox's Bazar.
But fame is not only a shiny way to a new life.

It’s a means of finding family who she’s lost contact with and receiving recognition.

“If I come on TV and become famous, [my] dad will come back,” she says.

“I won’t have to go looking for him. He’ll look for me.”
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