My father is an oarsman. One of my greatest memories was when he took me in a double scull at the Karachi Boat Club- where he rowed in his youth.
Didn’t flinch that I was a girl. He didn’t care.
I rowed in University for 2 years after I stopped playing football for the Varsity squad when I started to wear hijab.
Crew was amazing and I had a lot of fun.
They didn’t give a damn what I wore as long as I pulled hard.
I will always have a strong connection to this sport.
Pic of Heba Ahmed at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
via REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
A walk along the Isis
Sometimes, we walk the Isis tow path to head into Oxford to study or to meet friends. This was a Saturday, and these are all the activities that were going on in our little walk - a row team being shouted at by the man on the bicycle (he’s the coach - not a heckler!), another team putting out (or pulling in?) its boat, a house boat visit (complete with gins), and a riverboat wedding reception. All-in-all, a fantastically beautiful walk filled with living and life.
