WKND Special: The green mermaid with a mission

When one expects to see images of locals or tourists flaunt the national dress of a country, one imagines individuals posing against the backdrop of mountains and monuments, right? Ehdaa Al Barwani’s Instagram feed (@dive.with.dee) came in as a pleasant surprise, with pictures of her in Oman’s national costume under water.

The 33-year-old Omani diver donned the costume last year as part of the country’s National Day celebrations, with a mission to raise awareness on underwater conservation. “The idea to capture the dive in a photoshoot came from the desperate need for us, as Omani nationals, to work towards keeping our seas clean,” says Ehdaa, who is also the owner of Aura Divers, a dive centre in Muscat.

She is the first and only female Omani dive instructor, and aspires to encourage women to join the ever-growing scuba family. She has travelled to Dubai many times for short stays but is yet to dive here. “I’d love to dive in Fujairah soon,” she adds.

How challenging was it to dive in the attire?

The Omani dress is versatile and warm. Women used to wear it daily for a variety of activities, whether tending to the fields or mending fishing nets at the shore. Diving in it wasn’t any different.

What is the message you wish to send out?

Reusing and recycling old items has become an important aspect of the push to preserve the world’s environment. The problem with disposing old ‘junk’ is that eventually it ends up in a landfill, seeps into our soil, and inevitably into our oceans. This has posed a large decline in healthy coral reefs, which, in turn, affects us in myriad ways. During my dive, I encourage divers and students to pick up any plastic or rubbish and pop it in their pockets to be thrown away later. This encourages good habits and instills a sense of responsibility in them. We can’t expect people to be aware of the level of rubbish without them seeing it, neither can we expect them to understand the beauty of the underwater flora and fauna without them being able to swim amongst it.

Was the photoshoot one of the first such novel ideas?

I did a smaller series celebrating Omani Women’s Day. It was to spread the idea that women are capable of doing many great things. The response was positive and supportive. I have been working with reclaimed wood from construction areas that’s been washed up ashore. There are so many creative ways the wood can be reused and recycled. I’m now working on a series showcasing this.

When and how did you decide to become a diver?