Nasima Akter battled prejudice and poverty to pursue her love for surfing. Her amazing story is shown in the documentary, “Nasima.” Courtesy photo

In a conservative Muslim country where it is taboo for most women to even swim in public, Nasima Akter came to prominence a few years ago as the first Muslim surfer girl from Bangladesh. Not only was she the first female surfer in that country, she also became the first woman to be trained in lifesaving.

“I got addicted to the ocean,” she reported in the documentary. “I feel free on the water. Where I’m from and who I am doesn’t really matter.”

Her remarkable story is highlighted in the documentary, “Nasima,” screening at the ProArts Playhouse on June 21.

“Nasima’s official rollout begins on Maui,” said the film’s co-producer Cristine Guenther, who is based in Berlin. “We hope it will ripple out as part of our global grassroots release campaign — a wave of courage, interconnection and deep care among surfers of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Surfing in Bangladesh only began after the turn of the 21st century. The nation had no history of going into the water for enjoyment, even though Bangladesh has the longest sand beach in the world.

Born into a poor family, when she was 7, Akter was abandoned by her family after she refused to beg on the streets. She would have likely been forced into prostitution if she had stayed home. Instead, she sold cheap trinkets on the beach to tourists.

One day, she encountered Jafar Alam, the first surfer from Bangladesh. Unable to afford school, surfing became Akter’s life. Surfing daily for hours, she had to contend with condemnation. Even surfing fully clothed, men called her a whore for going in the water. When other girls started following her lead and joining the local surfing club, fundamentalist clerics declared surfing officially forbidden.

But she persevered and, as a 14-year-old girl, she shocked judges by beating the best boys in a surfing contest and winning $100 — more than a month’s salary in Bangladesh.

“When I surf, I can finally just be happy and forget about all my problems on land,” Akter told the film’s co-producer Jaimal Yogis.

The ProArts Playhouse in Kihei will screen “Nasima” on June 21. Courtesy photo

Yogis told the social justice website TakePart: “I was shocked by how freely some of the men, even the supportive ones, would sometimes refer to the girls in derogatory terms or talk about beating them as if it were normal in reprimanding them.”

Akter’s remarkable achievements were highlighted by Lakshmi Puri, the deputy executive director of the United Nations Women, who gave a speech at the 2012 IOC World Conference on Women and Sport.

“Just a year ago, more girls than boys belonged to the (Bangladesh Surf) club. But as surfing gained popularity, some community leaders felt that surfing was inappropriate for women and girls. Since then, almost every female club member has dropped. Nasima is the only one left. If her potential was discovered and nurtured, Nasima could get a chance at competing internationally. She could become Bangladesh’s first international surf star.”

The young female surfing star caught the attention of filmmaker Heather Kessinger, who eventually directed “Nasima,” which won best documentary at the Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival.

“I realized that there has to be something in Nasima, and that she must have a powerful story,’ Kessinger told Unitedfilm.cz. “I am drawn to make films about extraordinary life stories of various individuals. I have found that real life is often stranger and more compelling than fiction, and that what appears before me is often far beyond what I could have written.”

The documentary, “Nasima,” focuses on Nasima Akter, a woman from Bangladesh who’s gained international recognition for her accomplishments in surfing. Courtesy photo

Kessinger previously directed the documentary, “In the Shadow of Buddha,” which took viewers beyond the idealized world of Tibetan Buddhism and into the lives of Tibetan nuns. It won a number of festival awards, including a 2011 Golden Palm Award for Documentary Film.

Akter was forced to stop surfing and sell her surfboard after becoming married. When her husband abused her, she decided to leave with her baby and take up surfing once more, struggling to balance her passion for surfing alongside family obligations.

Yogis noted: “Akter and the other girls in the surf club are role models for people everywhere because they’re breaking down the barriers that contain them, and I think those who view the documentary can feel inspired by her courage and more free to challenge cultural norms that are unfair or holding them back.”

Both Yogis and Guenther “have a longstanding connection to Maui,” Guenther explained. “We feel a deep sense of gratitude to the island and its rich surfing heritage. So it feels only natural to host our first general screening, outside the festival circuit, there on International Surfing Day.”

“Nasima” screens at 7.30 p.m. June 21 at the ProArts Playhouse. Tickets range from $10 to $20.