KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) — Nur Fathiyah Mahfuz’s agile move, flipping her tail’ while swimming and doing various stunts in the sea, is like the animated character Ariel in the movie The Little Mermaid.
However, this 37-year-old mermaid will not be seen swimming with her long hair floating in the water as she is garbed in a Muslim woman’s image.
Besides wearing the hijab, the Safety Health Officer of a private hospital, wears a rashguard and swimming suit of suitable thickness, is not transparent or tight and covers the whole body except for the face and palms.
“I want to change society’s perception that anyone can realize the dream of becoming a mermaid and enjoy the beauty of the ocean floor,” she told Bernama here.
Nur Fathiyah, who started swimming and diving in a mermaid costume more than two years ago, is understood to be the first Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Mermaid’s Malay Muslim and hijab-wearing instructor in the Asia Pacific region.
In November last year, Nur Fathiyah, who is able to dive at a depth of about 10 metres in the sea without using a breathing apparatus and goggles, said she participated in a performance, themed ‘Save The Ocean’ at The Shore Oceanarium in Melaka in November last year, to create awareness among the public about the preservation and conservation of the sea.
Sharing her experience, Nur Fathiyah, a bachelor’s degree graduate in Environment Biotechnology from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), said she underwent training and a course run by a PADI Mermaid Instructor Trainer based in Shah Alam, Selangor.
“We also need to get qualification and recognition as PADI Advanced Mermaid by undergoing diving training wearing a mermaid swimming suit for at least 15 diving sessions, including three or more dives in the sea at a depth of 10 meters,” she said.
The Penang-born said she also had to undergo courses, including Emergency First Response (EFR) Primary & Secondary Care, as well as water skills exercises, like swimming for 400 meters and floating for 10 minutes, in addition to acquiring underwater skills, such as proper breathing, Duck Dive and Dolphin Kick.
According to her, doing water activities in a mermaid style is very challenging because one risks having a spasm in the water since swimming in a mermaid costume requires both legs to be joined together in the monofin and tail costume.
“Diving in the sea exposes mermaids to challenges such as water density, pressure, temperature, visibility and underwater currents. The risk of drowning is also there,” she added.
However, Nur Fathiyah, who often shares her water activities in the mermaid costume on social media, said that with sufficient skill training, diving and swimming in mermaid style is a fun activity.
She hopes to open a Muslimah Mermaid concept business that offers services such as basic make-up and photography at the bottom of the sea to get more Muslim women to participate in the activity.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency