In Dakar fishing village, surfing entices girls back to school

Seynabou “Maman” TALL, 14, poses with her surfboard on a beach in Almadies, Dakar, on January 29, 2026. [AFP]

 For generations, Seynabou Tall's ancestors have fished, dived and rowed off the coast of Dakar, where the 14-year-old, who quit school nearly four years ago, is now learning to surf.

She and some 20 other girls are participating in an inaugural Surf Academy, which requires they enrol in school, incentivised by the chance to shred waves.