As a young girl, Ehdaa Al Barwani, had a love for water that gave her comfort beyond expectations. In her own words: “I feel most at home when I’m surrounded by water.” Nurturing this love to become Oman’s first female PADI instructor, Ehdaa is unstoppable!
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors, popularly called PADI, is considered one of the leading scuba diving training organisations in the world. “PADI has different avenues that allow you to mould yourself into the diver you want to become,” says Ehdaa, who herself at just age 34, is a PADI open water scuba instructor and also, the owner of her own dive centre – Aura Divers; which she considers to be the single greatest achievement of her diving career.
We had the chance to dive into Ehdaa’s story and bring it to you just the way she wants to tell it to the world. Read on to learn about her journey from a girl with her heart tied to the open waters that surrounded her, to becoming Oman’s first female PADI instructor.
What inspired you to become a PADI Pro?
As a child I have always loved being in the water, whether it is a pool, wadi, or the sea. Living in Muscat gave me easy access to the beach, and we spent many weekends camping and snorkelling. Becoming a diver seemed to be a natural progression from that.
Right from the very first day of my open water course I knew this was going to be the hobby for me. However, I did not pursue it as a career until I started traveling. Doing my divemaster in Thailand allowed me to get work as a PADI pro to sustain my travels. The more I did it, the more my passion for diving grew, and the more I knew I wanted to do this as a career.
Can you tell us about your journey towards becoming a PADI Instructor?
It was in 2011 that I did my open water course in Oman. Although, being a university student, I could not afford to dive as often as I liked. Once I graduated however, I was able to dive far more often and in the different countries I travelled to. It was clear to me then that this was what I wanted to do.
I have always wanted to spread awareness on the importance of the preservation and appreciating our oceans and what it gives us. Show people an ecosystem, they would otherwise never be able to see up close. Watch them understand and accept ways to keep the oceans clean. Also, my love for teaching an exciting new skill, helping people to overcome their fears, and seeing their growth when they take off to do it independently, are all reasons that inspired me to continue.
I finally completed my Instructors course here in Oman in 2019, and opened a dive centre, Aura Divers, soon thereafter. I’m currently working on getting my Master Scuba Diving Trainer (MSDT) license, and my Technical Diving (Tec diving) license, so I still have a ways to go.
What does being the first Omani female PADI Instructor mean to you and what do you feel it means for the country?
When I started diving, I realised that there is a big demand for women instructors. Omani women have been making big waves in the sports field and I am excited to bring scuba diving into the mix. The positive response and interest from Omani women is a big indication that it is the way forward and I’m honoured to be able to provide that. Oman has many beautiful dive locations yet to be discovered, and I would love it if an all women team is the one to do that. Looking at the growth and change in the roles of women in this country, that thought is definitely feasible. I am extremely proud of how Oman has enjoyed steady unwavering growth over the past 50 years, and women have had great influence in the building this nation.
What do you consider to be your most memorable dive?
Oh my, it is hard to pick! There was the time I dove with Manta rays and nurse sharks at Nusa Penida, South Bali, or the time I followed the sardine run in Moalboal Palawan and swam through them, and day turned to night as the sheer number of sardines blocked all the light. Or even the time I dove in the crystal-clear waters of El Nido to see frog fish that can be as small as a fingernail or as big as an open hand.
What are some of the challenges or obstacles you had to overcome to get to where you are today?
Overcoming society’s perception that scuba diving is not a viable career choice has been challenging. Coming from a science background it was expected that I would choose a completely different career path, but that was never my intention. I feel all jobs are integral to our society’s development, and it’s wonderful that people have different interests. Encouraging us to explore these interests stops us from over saturating certain job fields while overlooking others.
What is the single most important thing that diving gives you?
Being up close and personal with the aquatic system. With scuba diving you are able to stay underwater long enough to observe and understand the ocean’s habitat. You see how marine life interacts with each other, and how coral reefs act to protect and sustain the ocean’s biodiversity.
What would you say to a non-diver, that you feel would convince them to learn to dive?
The underwater world is a wonderful surprise, you get to have beautiful interactions with marine life in their own habitat that you would otherwise never see. The turtles, friendly whale sharks, or the feisty clownfish, there is a whole new world below the surface just waiting to be explored.
And lastly, what are your absolute favourite dive sites here in Oman?
Oman has plenty of gorgeous dive sites, all equally beautiful. There is the Daymaniyat Islands where you get to see whale sharks during season, along with leopard sharks, and sting rays. The Al Fatal Island is home to black tip reef sharks which is why it is also called shark island, together with colourful soft and hard coral. Bandar Khayran is another popular dive site.
Apart from these established dive sites, there are those in development. The Munassir wreck, a warship sunk by the Royal Navy of Oman in 2003 is slowly developing into a beautiful dive site with shoals of fish and coral. It’s truly hard to pick, but if I were to pick one, it would be a dive site called Aquarium, located a few kilometres off the Daymaniyat Islands. There is a huge amount of reef fish (snapper, trigger etc) and you also stand a higher chance of seeing some of the rare marine sights like eagle rays, leopard sharks, and lots of turtles and nudibranchs.