The water-filled her nose and mouth as Sahar Ehsani flailed about, trying to remember what her instructors had told her about kicking her legs and moving her arms.
“It was so difficult,” Sahar, now 18, tells Woman’s Day. “I’d been doing swimming classes for a year, but I was getting discouraged. I couldn’t do it and at one point I wanted to give up.”
Sahar, who was born in Afghanistan, had fled from Pakistan to Melbourne in 2018. There, she and her family were faced with a very different kind of life. “It was too dangerous to go to the beach in Pakistan,” she says. “And in Muslim culture, it’s unusual for women to swim. The boys would go to the pool, but never me and my sisters.
“The first time I actually went to the beach, I had the impression it would be scary, but it was beautiful. I put my feet in the water and it felt really amazing.”
Bu hikaye Woman’s Day Magazine NZ dergisinin March 7, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Woman’s Day Magazine NZ dergisinin March 7, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
TREASURE & TRAUMA
The launch of the new season of Celebrity Treasure Island doubled as an eighth wedding anniversary celebration for contestant Millen Baird and his wife Siobhan Marshall, who came fourth on the show back in 2022.
JUDGE JAY-JAY
Radio diva Jay-Jay Feeney delivers her verdict on your biggest dilemmas
CASEY'S BABY JOY 'OUR GIRL IS ALREADY SO LOVED'
The Te Puke gym owner refused to let a devastating accident stop her from becoming a mother
DEAD FUNNY! SHOSHANA'S GOING SOLO
The Emmy Award-winning writer is starring in a macabre new comedy
TWO RAW SISTERS BABY MAKES THREE!
Rosa and Margo have a new cookbook and bundle of joy on the way
HOME AND AWAY'S NEW MÃORI STAR
The son of a Kiwi sporting Legend, Cantona Stewart is making waves in Summer Bay
TV STAR AIDEE 'THE NIGHT I ALMOST DIED'
The actress and director opens up about her terrifying ordeal
CARMEL SEPULONI I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FIGHTER!
Our former deputy PM the lessons she's learnt in politics on CTI
KENNEDY & SOLLY'S ROMANTIC RACE TO THE ALTAR
The Black Ferns co-captain and her rugby star husband organised the ir nuptials in just five days!
THE BRAD & GEORGE SHOW is back!
Their lovable bromance is stealing the spotlight in Venice!