Khadjou Sambe, Senegal’s first female professional surfer, trains near her home in the district of Ngor – the westernmost point of the African continent.
“I would always see people surfing and I’d say to myself: ‘But where are the girls who surf?'” says the 25-year-old.”I thought: ‘Why don’t I go surfing, represent my country, represent Africa, represent Senegal, as a black girl?'”
The surfer is now inspiring the next generation to defy cultural norms and take to the waves.
Sambe trains beginners at Black Girls Surf (BGS), a training school for girls and women who want to compete in professional surfing.
She encourages her students to develop the physical and mental strength to ride waves and break the mould in a society which generally expects them to stay at home, cook, clean, and marry young.
Sambe is a proud Lebou – an ethnic group that traditionally lives by the sea.Growing up in the coastal capital of Dakar, Sambe never saw a black woman surfing the Atlantic swells.
As a teenager, her parents refused to allow her to surf for two-and-a-half years, saying it brought shame on the family.
Sambe started surfing when she was 14 years old.
