Opening Boundaries breaks down cultural barriers to provide inclusive spaces for Asian women to swim

A global charity is continuing to have a major impact in helping Asian women in Stourbridge to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of female-only swim sessions.

Opening Boundaries campaigns globally to use the power of sport as a tool for peace, whilst raising the awareness of community cohesion, positive health and gender equality.

In an aquatics programme led by Farah Ahmed, Project Manager of Opening Boundaries, the charity is tackling cultural barriers to swimming, bringing together around 60 women of all ages, Asian backgrounds and abilities at three swim sessions a week – one at Wordsley Primary School and two at Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge.

The Stourbridge Women Inspiring Members (SWIM) Club, established to address the mental and physical issues caused by a lack of exercise experienced by Asian women, particularly some Pakistani ladies, has a demographic of women aged 16-60.

It aligns with This Girl Can’s latest campaign ‘We Like the Way You Move’, which celebrates women who are finding their own ways to get active, including Black and Asian women.

“The group has gone from strength to strength over the past year or two. For some of these women and girls, getting out of the house to use sports facilities is a challenge but for swimming there seem to be more barriers – both cultural, language and religious," Farah says.

“They wanted to be able to swim with female lifeguards and teachers and in an inclusive environment they felt was safe and private. We have provided access to pool sessions to make them feel comfortable. We have boosted their confidence in water safety, helped women learn to swim and also to make progress in their aquatics journeys.

“There’s a lovely family feel to the sessions – lots of mothers and daughters, aunties and their nieces as well as siblings attend and they’ve shared with us the medical, physical and mental health benefits.”

Another major plus of the Opening Boundaries initiative was its training of two lifeguards, a mother and daughter duo Kay and Imaan Tasadiq, who have been familiar faces at some of the swim sessions across the Black Country. And the charity is currently looking to upskill a further three women to become lifeguards in the coming months.

The huge success of the project over the last 12 months was driven by Active Black Country with the support of Sport England investment in the wake of the Covid pandemic. It was recognised with a nomination in the ‘Aquatics Champion’ category at the 2024 Sporting Equals Awards.

In June, Farah attended the Elevate physical activity conference in London where she spoke about the challenges of community outreach and the success of the Opening Boundaries project.

She shared how Active Black Country’s Community Aquatics Programme – developed to support underrepresented groups – had been adapted to suit the needs of Asian women in Stourbridge and how the workforce had been upskilled to create culturally sensitive spaces for participants.

Active Black Country facilitated the link with Crystal Leisure Centre and worked with the venue to install a privacy screen to ensure the environment was suitable for the SWIM Club. It also funded training opportunities for some of the ladies to upskill as lifeguards and swimming teachers.

Growth and sustainability

The Opening Boundaries initiative was initially aimed at Asian women whose exercise had been restricted during the pandemic, including those with health issues such as diabetes and arthritis.

And the SWIM Club grew so popular that Farah had to turn people away as the sessions couldn’t cater for any increase in capacity, she recalls.

“There was an unbelievable response from the group and the wider community in the early days. They all loved it! Asian women are massively underrepresented in swimming for recreation, although the appetite to swim is huge,” she says.

“We hope to continue to grow this project and sustain it for years to come by upskilling our members,” says Farah, who sits on the Regional Board at Swim England and also chairs its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group.