Sidibari
In sports and many other recreational activities, women and girls are forced to navigate more than just physical challenges — they face power imbalances, harmful gender stereotypes, and a culture that often prioritises the image of the institution over the safety of its athletes and clients.
Violence and harassment are too often minimized or shrugged off. This is where we begin — with the experience of a prominent swimmer and multiple national record holder.
Hamna Ahmed – now one of the most high-profile swimmers in Maldives – was 15 or 16 years old when it happened. A rising star in Maldivian swimming, she was also dreaming of becoming a PADI-certified diver.
“As you all know, I’ve always loved Moodhu activities ever since I could remember. And diving was one of those things – I even begged my mother to let me get certified.”
In 2018, she signed up for a diving course, hoping to deepen her relationship with the ocean that had shaped her identity as an athlete.
But one dive changed everything.
“During a dive at Rasfannu, he (the instructor) abruptly took off my mouthpiece and tried to kiss me,” Hamna recalled the incident in a recent Instagram story. “I pushed him, shook my head no, swam away and got out of the cave immediately.”
The instructor was a freelancer working a well-known dive centre in Malé. At the time, Hamna told no one. “I don’t hold the dive school responsible,” she clarified. “I hold the instructor accountable.” The instructor later reached out to ask why she had stopped attending the dive sessions. she told him, but he denied everything.
Years later, Hamna has now learned that she wasn’t the only one. The dive school eventually stopped hiring the same instructor after a similar complaint was raised. “I’m glad the dive centre took action when they received another complaint.”
“I was too scared to come out and speak about this back then,” she wrote. “I didn’t want to be alienated by the moodhu community.”
The silence wasn’t just hers. Hamna’s decision to speak out now was inspired by others in the watersports community – a case of over a dozen cases alleging complicity in sexual misconduct against another dive centre based in the Male’ region.
“It’s incredibly important that you all speak about your experiences,” Hamna wrote. “You don’t know who you will inspire along the way.”
Aquatic sports like swimming and diving create environments uniquely vulnerable to abuse. Coaches and instructors frequently work in close physical proximity to the students and athletes they guide.
Many swimmers and divers also begin their athletic journeys as children. These young athletes are placed under the control of much older authority figures, creating deep power imbalances.
In sports, this culture of silence is further compounded by the intense pressure on athletes to maintain their reputations, secure their positions, and avoid jeopardizing their careers; speaking up against misconduct could mean risking more harassment.
Another critical factor in the prevalence of this issue – in sports and beyond – is the social stigma pointed towards those who speak up. Too often, athletes are pressured to stay silent, out of fear of possible retaliation or disbelief from the public. In small, close-knit community such as the Maldives, these barriers are magnified by personal ties, social stigma, and institutional silence.
“Sadly, this kind of behavior doesn’t only happen in the diving community. It happens in sports, workplaces, schools and so many other places”
To what extent does this issue permeate in Maldivian sports, nobody knows.
While Hamna doesn’t hold the dive school responsible, her story exemplifies a broader failure: an environment where athletes like her are left to carry the weight of their trauma in silence, while abusers often face no consequences.
Sidibari reached out to the dive school for comment regarding Hamna Ahmed’s account. A representative from the dive centre informed that they were unaware of this case until now, and confirmed that they conduct background checks on all instructors. They emphasized that both them and PADI maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy toward harassment.
They also assured that measures are in place to prevent any such incidents from occurring in the future.
