Zimpapers Logo

TRIPOLI. — Few Libyan women would wear a swimming costume in public, but Daniah Hagul wants to help change a conservative society when she competes at the Rio Olympics.

In Libya “a significant number of boys but hardly any other girls swim, so I hope that they watch me and are inspired to do the same,” said the 17-year-old.

Libya has a 1 770-kilometre coastline, but on top of social pressures and political strife that followed the 2011 revolt against Muammer Gaddafi, swimming pools and clubs are almost non- existent.

The budget of the Libyan Swimming Federation (LSF) is severely limited.

Hagul will be the first female swimmer to represent Libya in the Olympics since the revolution.

“It’s such an honour and a privilege and I can’t wait to do my country proud,” she said.

Hagul has won medals in international competitions and qualified for last year’s World Championships in Kazan, Russia.

Hagul’s rise owes much to her parents’ decision to move to Malta in the 1990s. Many Libyans live in exile on the Mediterranean island. — AFP.