(CNN) — Four months ago Raya Al Habsi didn’t know how to swim and was a complete sailing novice. Yet Al Habsi is set to become one of the first professional women sailors in the sultanate of Oman.
Al Habsi is one of 30 women being trained as part of a scheme to create a new generation of female sailors and boost the country’s Olympic chances.
The women were chosen in July to take part in the program –which started in October– and will see them qualify as sailing instructors after an intensive six-month training course. For Al Habsi, it has been a life-changing event.
“I didn’t know anything about sailing, just what I have watched on TV,” she says. “I was a complete beginner.”
Categories: Middle East, Women Rights