Breaking the waves of stereotype impressions
Two years ago, they were different individuals fighting their own battles as girls and women from traditional families in the fishing village of Arugam Bay, more popular among foreigners as the best surfing point in Sri Lanka.
With Arugam Bay winning world recognition as one of the surfing destinations since the end of the three-decade long civil war in 2010, these females would either play a supporting role in a different capacity or simply remain as onlookers of others battling the waves.
But one single woman, Shamali Sanjaya, now 32, changed the course of the women of the area, and with the support of her American friend, Tiffany Carothers, is now even known globally as the president of Sri Lanka’s first all-female surfing club, which celebrated its second anniversary in August.
“I’m happy for where we are as a club today, and above all feel proud of myself and other members of the club for being able to stand our ground and earn the respect and reputation we enjoy today. Tiffany (Carothers) will definitely have a major share of this whole success,” Shamali, a natural born surfer, told the Sunday Times.
The mother of two children, both daughters – a two-year-old and a newborn of three months – is the sister of Asanka Sanjeewa, one of the top local surfers who had won many surfing tournaments. Their father, also a veteran surfer, is the owner of the famous cafe on the beach at the main surfing point in Arugam Bay. The siblings naturally had the influence of their family and the sea, but unlike her brother, who braved the waves at an early age, Shamali had to wait until she turned 22 to try out surfing. That too had an immediate backlash from her brother, who was rather protective of her being criticised by others in the area.
“Yes, it was naturally a big ‘NO’ from my brother when he first saw me surfing. I was the first to surf here. Other females were not open or forward enough to get into the water, but I have been surfing for over eight years. Earlier I used to go out alone, but nowadays I have a few friends, including ‘Tiffany’ who initiated the idea of forming a club,” she recalled.
Despite the negative and harsh responses, Shamali continued to ‘naanna’ (bathe), which terms up for surfing among the locals of Arugam Bay, until one fine day she met Tiffany Carothers, a surfer from California who volunteered with ‘Surfing The Nations’, a humanitarian non-profit organisation whose goal is to bring a positive impact in the society through surfing.
Tiffany was willing to help Shamali with surf lessons, but was strongly opposed by many including Asanka and other locals, who saw it as a curse, rather than a blessing. This would prompt the two to ‘sneak out’ to other surfing points around the area such as Pottuvil, Whiskey, Lighthouse, Elephant Rock, Peanut Farm, Panama, Okanda and Baby points. The ‘sneaking out mission’ was far more greater, though it was a secret affair that drew more females in numbers. Interest on surfing had grown immensely among girls and women during this phase, despite fully unaware by others in the area.
“Then in 2015, Tiffany came up with the idea of forming a club and she went around to all parts of Arugam Bay to promote the idea and hold a workshop on surfing. The initiative was good, as there were over 30 participants for that workshop on that day and the support of visiting Australian surfers. It was the beginning of the new journey,” Shamali said recollecting the most crucial juncture of Arugam Bay Girls’ Surf Club (ABGSC).
While more local women took up surfing than expected and learned more about the new-found passion, the workshop hardly received any positive response from the locals, even several governmental institutions. Tiffany had been asked by some government officials and family members of the women surfers to leave or provide sewing machines, instead of unneeded surfing lessons, as the local elders believed women’s duties are to wake up early, clean, cook and engage in the traditional household chores.
This only prompted Shamali and Tiffany to take more precautionary measures, just to avoid the public eye and the exercise continued for months. Gradually with the sight of local women practicing surf becoming a routine occurrence, the stance of the locals changed with the tide.
“My brother, Asanka, is a top surfer, but he strongly objected me taking up surfing seriously. He was of the idea that it was too dangerous for girls, and it was a sport with high risk. Now he has changed his idea totally, and is one of our biggest supporters,” Shamali said overwhelmed by the risk that they took to change the impression.
The formation of the Arugam Bay Girls’ Surf Club was the result of a casual chat that took place in 2017 among the two friends and some other foreign surfers, spearheaded by Martina from Austria. As days, weeks and months went by, Shamali and Tiffany managed to gather girls and women who are truly passionate on surfing and officially form the ABGSC on August 10, 2018.
“Today there are girls from 11 to 42, from young schoolgoers to mothers in our club. We do a lot of activities to popularise the sport in the neighbouring areas apart from taking part in competitions and training programmes,” she added.
With Shamali Sanjaya as president of ABGSC, others in the top brass are Baby Rani as vice president, Lathika Lakmali as secretary and Isuri Anupama as treasurer. The club has 19 members with K. Nandani (42) being the most senior and Nayomi (11) being the youngest. Some of other members in the club are Shamali’s sister Inoka, J. Darnika, Isuri Anupama, Nadiya Pulanthiran and her 12-year-old daughter Dilki.
Nowadays it’s a common sight to see the Arugam Bay girls gather every Friday for a full beach cleanup, before they surf at different points from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the weekly activity continued as the sea and the sands of Arugam Bay provides an income to many families in the area.
Shamali Sanjaya (4th from left) leads the surfing angels. Pic by Amila Gamage
“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in a big way, because many in the area, including us, depend heavily on tourism and surfing. As a club, the period got us into thinking of other areas where we could help our members and the community to sustain during tough times. We have members in the club and others who are qualified in ayurveda massage therapy, cooking, baking and tailoring in addition to surfing. It all connects to surfing and tourism in Arugam Bay and through a comprehensive programme, we intend to transform our club into a fully-fledged entity, where all members and other women from the area could contribute to their family income,” she explained of the club’s intentions in time to come.
Currently all members of the ABGSC are halfway through a programme through Australian Aid to obtain the International Surfing Association (ISA) certificate to train surfing to amateurs, mainly women. Today, the ones who strongly opposed the girls and women and wanted them to be presented with sewing machines, have identified surfing as a potential income generator.
“If we can get the ISA certificate as surfing trainers, we can teach women how to surf. Presently we are undergoing a training programme to become surfing instructors and the course was halted due to the ongoing pandemic. We will be able to complete the course by March 2021. Through that we will be able to deliver surfing lessons to local and foreign girls and women, and popularise the sport among all girls in Sri Lanka with assurance of surfing being a safe sport for them,” she revealed, while welcoming any female to join the club.
Today the whole of Arugam Bay is proud of what these girls and women have achieved, despite early criticism from their own backyards. Among the biggest strength these women possess are the support from their families and husbands, who look after the kids to make way for the married women to continue in their surfing activities. Shamali’s steadfast resistance with Tiffany’s proficient backing has not only helped create a new wave, but also break the stereotype impressions traditionally labelled on local women.