On a stretch of beach in a Bangladeshi tourist town called Cox’s Bazar, an amazing thing is happening: Eight young girls are learning to surf.

Early each morning, rain or shine, these girls leave their homes in traditional villages and make their way to the beach, where they work selling jewelry, chips, and eggs until late into the night. Their families depend on their income to survive.

For most Bangladeshi girls, this would be their sole activity until they marry—usually before the age of 18—and assume a traditional housewife or domestic role. But for the past year and a half these eight girls have been learning to surf, skateboard, and dream—thanks to the efforts of surfer and lifeguard Rashed Alam, his