Solomon Islander girls make a splash as dive instructors
Zaza Bedford on a Dive Munda boat
It is not a common answer for Solomon Islander girls when they’re asked: what do you do for a job?
But Dive Munda, a local diving company, is trying to change that.
The company, in the Western Province, has trained, and now employs, four female dive guides.
And it is a significant progress for gender equality in the Solomon Islands.
One of the female guides is Zaza Bedford, a 19-year-old girl who joined the company after completing an eight month diving class.
Zaza said she loved diving, and swimming with sharks and crocodiles was “just part of the job”.
“We float around and look, keep quiet and let them go past, then after we dive again,” she told SIBC.
“They don’t do anything.”
Kikiva Tuni