Meet Ishita Malaviya, India's first female surfer




Meet Ishita Malaviya, journalism student-turned-surfer who’s broken almost every stereotype that tries to bind the quintessential Indian woman. As Ishita herself says in India women are expected to get an education, find a job, get married and then make babies. If she was trying to break through societal barriers, Ishita has done that and more! 
Ishita was India’s first female surfer, and now she teaches young girls not only how to surf but also to be whoever they want to be. When Ishita Malaviya began surfing at the age of 18 she was the only female in the water.
She had just moved to a small south west coastal town called Manipal, from the big city of Mumbai, to study journalism in 2007, when a chance encounter with a German exchange student saw her lay her eyes on a surfboard for the first time.
Back then surf shops didn't exist and the idea of a woman going anywhere near one was taboo. Local people, who believe fair skin equates to beauty, were also not used to seeing a young woman get tanned and mocked Malaviya for her colour.
‘A lot of my friends and professors would say "Ishita you have become so dark, so black, you look like charcoal".
‘I said "are you serious? You think I’m ugly?" That was a little disturbing,’ she told
Since discovering surfing in 2007, Ishita has become India’s first female professional surfer. Ishita currently runs the Shaka Surf Club in Manipal, Karnataka, along with her friend and co-founder Tushar Pathiyan.

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