The female divers plucking waste from out the blue

The yacht Diversity leaves the harbour of Aqaba, the only coastal town in Jordan. To the right is the Israeli resort of Eilat; in the Red Sea, a boxfish makes leisurely circles in absurdly clear, turquoise water.

-  Annika Brohm

The boat soon anchors just offshore, directly in front of Aqaba's electricity plant, and suddenly everything happens quickly: the passengers donned wetsuits, passed around gloves and cloth bags, and then, one by one, dive in. They all have one mission: to collect as much rubbish as possible in 30 minutes.

Led by 34-year-old Beisan AlSharif, these are the women of Project Sea an initiative born two years ago when AlSharif, a keen diver, and her friend, Seif Al Madanat, began to collect rubbish every time they dived. It is now a community of more than 150 volunteers, with local women at its heart.

"There's not one dive with a female participation of less than 50% - which is amazing for a Middle Eastern country like Jordan," said AlSharif.

Although considered one of the more liberal nations in the region, the predominantly Muslim country ranks 126th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index. Female economic participation is low and women are expected to conform to traditional roles.