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Female diver community wants more women to explore Indonesia's underwater world
As home to spectacular underwater vistas, Indonesia is a popular destination for avid divers. As most divers are male, a local community is set to promote this watery activity to more Indonesian women.
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A female free diver swims underwater over a vivid coral reef. (Shutterstock/-)
A
s home to spectacular underwater vista, Indonesia is a popular destination for avid divers. As most divers are male, a local community is set to promote this watery activity to more Indonesian women.
"Indonesia is known for its underwater beauty and we need to promote it better since there are so many destinations to explore. Female divers can help with this promotion as well as with preserving those places," said model Davina during a press launch of the Indonesia Women in Diving community in Jakarta on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.
Initiated by professional diver Nunung Hasan and the Tourism Ministry, the community is open to all Indonesian women and does not conduct any registration or membership process. "There's no requirement for those who want to join, as long as they are female and Indonesian citizens," said Nunung, adding that the community's activities could be found in the Scuba Diver Indonesia magazine and its website.
(Read also: Seven reasons Bali is the perfect destination for diving)
According to data by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), who have so far issued 35,000 diver certifications in Indonesia, 59 percent of those divers are male and 41 percent are female. Globally, the composition is 63.9 percent and 36.1 percent, respectively.
"The percentage of female divers in Indonesia is actually quite good. From the 41 percent, up to 30 percent are Indonesian women," said PADI representative Abi Carnadie. "This community can be a good start to expand the diving industry. We need more professional female divers and we want to expand the market to the family segment." (kes)
