Category: Society & Culture

Attacker may have been released on rehabilitation program

One of the men charged with attacking the manager of Habib Bank, Mohamed Anjul Jameel, was previously imprisoned but may have recently been transferred to house arrest under the rehabilitation programme, according to reports today.

The 56 year-old was stabbed when four men broke into his apartment on the sixth floor of Machangolhi Uraha in Male’. On his release from hospital, Jameel said he was leaving the Maldives, and vowed never to return.

Daily newspaper Haveeru cited an official from the Department for Penitentiary and Rehabilitaion Service (DPRS) as claiming that 20 year-old Abdulla Aseel, of Galolhu Coralsea, had been released on the 27th of February.

The newspaper reported that Aseel had been sentenced for possession of three grams of drugs, while a person in authority familiar with the matter confirmed to Minivan News that Aseel had been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

However State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil said the claims made in Haveeru were yet to be confirmed.

Mohamed Zuhair, Press Secretary for the President’s Office, also said the government had yet to verify the claims.

Managing Director of the DPRS, Mohamed Rasheed, responded to enquiries from Minivan News but said he would only answer questions during office hours.

Zuhair acknowledged that the government had transferred many prisoners to house arrest.

”In the first round we transferred 200 inmates, and in the second round 119 inmates,” he said, explaining that ”it would be unfair for the people to think that everyone transferred to house arrest will be engaging in crimes.”

He explained that ”if a woman commits a crime, that doesn’t mean you can think that women will commit crimes.”

Another of the three men arrested for the stabbing of the bank manager, Ali Shuaib, was also arrested last year in connection with a murder case last year. Shuaib was investigated over the killing of a Bangladeshi man by hitting him with a three-foot long log, but he was acquitted.

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Local surfers launch documentary at Male’ event

The Maldives Surfing Association (MSA) held a barbecue and screened a local surfing documentary earlier this week in an effort to promote the sport in the Maldives.

The MSA’s Chairperson, Mohamed Shiuneel, says such events are necessary to promote the sport because surfing’s development in the Maldives has largely been restricted to the resort industry, which in some cases he says have even claimed ownership of surf breaks.

“Maybe it’s because tourism is growing so fast – even safari boats are now [claiming] surf breaks,” he says.

Local surfers have competed very successfully in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, Shiuneel notes.

“The government can help us – we need to protect the surf point areas,” he says. “There are many environmental issues that can affect them. For example, when the artificial beach was reclaimed it really affected the Male’ surf break.”

Pro surfing was famously introduced to the Maldives in 1973 by an Australian surfer called Tony Hinde, who was shipwrecked in North Male’ Atoll during a voyage from Sri Lanka to Africa. Hinde named many of the country’s most popular surf breaks, giving them names like Sultans, Jails and Honkeys, before falling in love with the country and deciding to stay.

He converted to Islam, changed his named to Tony Hussein Hinde, married a local woman, opened his own surf tourism agency, and died of a heart attack after riding a wave in 2008.

Shiuneel explains that while Hinde introduced pro surfing and introduced short boards, “Maldivians have been here since the second century. Many people like my grandfather talk about Maldivians surfing on a plank of wood.”

In recent years the Maldives has begun to attract an increasing number of professional surfers, drawn for the same reasons as Hinde. Accessing many of the breaks remains a challenge however, with many restricted to those with either local knowledge or those who stay in a nearby resort.

“A lot of people don’t know how to access some of the breaks, and beginners can struggle to get access to surfboards,” Shiuneel says, acknowledging that sport is not as easy to take up as it should be.

“I think we live on a small island and have a very defensive mentality. It’s a geographical problem as much as anything. And While the Surf Association tries its best to run development programmes, we do struggle for funding.”

Surf politics and issues of funding matter little to many of the clubs members. Asim ‘Chin Chon’, who describes himself as “a local legend”, says surfing “is the best sport for the Maldives. You shouldn’t be driving around the island in a sports car – instead, every house should have a surfboard. This should be normal for an island city.”

“Look at it, it’s God’s gift,” he says, sweeping his arm at the waves breaking on the nearby seawall.

“It’s relaxed; there’s no jet skis, just paddling out on a board – that’s nature.”

The surf documentary will be available from the Sea Sports store in Male’ and the Maldives Surfing Association in a week’s time.

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President asks German scholars to help interpret Sharia law for the Maldives

President Nasheed has asked German scholars with expertise in Sharia law to help apply it to certain fields in the Maldives, during his visit to Berlin.

“I have done my homework and I am quite aware of the amount of German discourse in Islamic jurisprudence”, President Nasheed said, according to German news site deutschenachrichten.

Nasheed told the German press that Maldivian law was based on Sharia, but warned them about “jumping to the wrong conclusions.”

“We are a tolerant and free country, and we want to keep it that way,” he said.

Press S for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said that Germany was a country where a large number of experienced and professional scholars live.

”In the 20th century, the highest standard of Islamic universities was also in Germany,” Zuhair said.

Zuhair said the government had discussed the request for German assistance with the Islamic Ministry, which had expressed its approval.

However spokesperson for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadullah said he had no information about the matter and did not want to comment.

Zuhair explained that “many Islamic books also were preserved in Germany” and believed that “German religious scholars would be more experienced than Maldivian scholars.”

”The origins of Sharia code would not be changed,” Zuhair said. ”They will only help in some areas like taxation.”

He said the president had received very positive answers in response to his interest.

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said if good advice was given “it should always be heard and acted upon.”

Shaheem said people should realise “that there are Islamic scholars all around the world, and not only in Arabic countries.”

“The are good scholars in many countries,” Shaheem said, “even in those where Islamic people are in a minority.”

”Even a scholar like Sheikh Bukhari (a famous scholar of the Hadiths) was not from an Arabic country,” Shaheem explained.

“If a scholar in another country can give the right information on Sharia law, we have to accept it. But if anyone gives the wrong information, we have scholars here who can tell us the right way to implement Sharia.”

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Bill on government preschools to appear before parliament

A bill governing pre-schools has been presented to parliament by Independent MP Ahmed Shiyam and was accepted by all 64 members present.

If the bill is approved the government would assume responsibility for funding the country’s preschools, which are now largely privately operated.

Deputy Minister for Education Shifa Mohamed said preschools were very important as they represented the first stage of education.

But she also noted that it was very difficult for the government to handle and develop preschools at a time when it was focusing on widening the availability of higher education.

”It would be very difficult for the government to handle the preschools as the country’s economic condition is also not very good, and I do not think the approved budget would be sufficient,” Shifa said.

She called on the MPs to include sufficient funding in the budget and increase it as necessary.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the government supported the preschool bill, approved by the majority of MDP MPs as well.

”Every one dollar spent on preschool education represents seven dollars saved in secondary,” he explained.

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Thirty coconut palms vandalised on Nadella

A group of people have cut down 30 coconut palm trees on the island of Nadella in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, the same area where President Mohamed Nasheed had promised to develop a football stadium.

Councilor of Nadella Abbas Ali told Minivan News that given that the price of one grown palm tree was Rf500 a sapling Rf100, the incident on Monday night represented a total loss Rf3500 to the community.

“Some of the people earn money by selling coconuts and items made from palm trees,” he said.

”In that area there are 430 palm trees belonging to 25 people. It is a very big loss for some people.”

”Apparently they had used electric or petrol saws.”

Abbas said the Island office informed about it to the police yesterday morning.

He said the islanders had disputed the development of a football stadium in the area because recently land was reclaimed to develop the stadium in another area.

He said the palm trees were growing 300 feet away from where people lived.

Mohamed Rasheed, a man who lost two palm trees in the incident, said the trees had belonged to his grandfather and he had been waiting for them to get old so he could use the logs.

”I also use the palm trees to get coconuts,” he said.

Head of Gaafu Dhaalu police station Ahmed Naseeh said the police yet to begin investigating the case.

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Gayoom concerned over “false information” on women’s rights

Former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has expressed concern at an increasing amount of  “false information” being spread by Islamic scholars in the country concerning women’s rights.

Quoting from the Qur’an to prove his point during a DRP special event yesterday held on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Gayoom said there was “no religious justification” for the inequality of women and that Islam “does not limit a woman’s equal rights in society.”

He further called on all women to join the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), saying “You will get equal rights and equal opportunity when you are in DRP. You can reach your destination and achieve your goals when you are in DRP.”

Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, spokesman for the former president and DRP member, said Gayoom was “quite emotional” when speaking of women’s rights at the meeting.

Women’s rights in politics

Gayoom explained that everyone had worked very hard in his government to bring the country to its current position and to find a place for women in society, especially in politics.

Aneesa Ahmed, DRP member and co-founder of women’s rights NGO Hope for Women, said she agreed with Gayoom and added that under his rulership, the number of women in politics “was better than the current numbers in the political arena.”

Ahmed said she so far “haven’t seen improvements” for women’s rights in the country under the new presidency.

“I have heard of the gender policy but nothing is being done for it to be effective,” she said, noting that “it is still too early to talk about it.”

Ahmed said under Gayoom’s government four out of twenty-one cabinet members were women, while currently there was only one woman in the cabinet.

“I have heard a lot of rhetoric on gender equality but no action,” she said.

On 24 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the government’s intention to withdraw the Maldives’ reservation to the UN Woman’s Rights Treaty on Article 7(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Article 7(a) states that there must be political equality and equal rights for women, and includes running for public office.

Under the 1998 Constitution of the Maldives, women were banned from running for president, as it explicitly stated that the candidate must be a man.

Article 109 of the new Constitution of 2008 does not include any restrictions based on gender under “qualifications for election as President”.

The reservation was withdrawn because it was deemed contradictory to the new Constitution.

Change and improvement

The Judiciary’s website cites an alarming figure: not one rape case has been taken to criminal court in the last four years.

However numerous cases have been reported to the police and several arrests made during this period of time.

Minivan News alone has reported at least nine abuse cases against women and girls since January 2009, most of them involving multiple perpetrators and/or victims. Most of the victims are under the age of 18.

The fact that none of these cases have made it to court could potentially make many women afraid to report such cases to the authorities.

The Ministry of Health and Family held a panel today including members of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Gender, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s office, among others.

Deputy Minister of Health and Family Mariya Ali said it was a “varied” panel offering an “alternative dialogue” to find solutions to issues on women’s rights, such as the prosecution of rape cases.

Ali said the ministry, working with the Prosecutor General, is “following up a lot of abuse cases that were put on hold.”

When asked about Gayoom’s statement on the misuse of Islam to spread inequality for women in society, she said “some of the things [the Islamic scholars] are saying can be misinterpreted by the public” but confirmed that the Ministry of Health is “working closely with the Islamic Ministry” to deal with these issues.

International Women’s Day celebrations and events

International Women’s Day was celebrated around the world on 8 March. This year marks the 99th anniversary of the first Women’s Day celebrated in 1911.

The celebrations, which mark the economic, political and social achievements of women, took many different forms around the world.

There were rallies to stop violence against women in the Middle East; a silent protest in Taipei; a protest of thousands in Iran; a breakfast in Iraq; a rally of hundreds in Bangladesh; a discussion panel in China; and education bus tour in South Africa; a march for equality in Brazil and thousands of other events around the world, all commemorating the rights of women.

The Ministry of Health and Family will be celebrating this year’s Woman’s Day this week, with the theme of “Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all.”

Most of the public events being organised by the ministry and Department of Gender will be held over the weekend, including a children’s evening and stage show at Villingili stage area on 12 March.

There will also be a Friday sermon based on the theme of the celebrations.

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HRCM annual report on human rights reveals concerning statistics

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) held a press conference this morning to present their annual report for 2009 on human rights in the Maldives.

The press conference was led by President of the Commission Ahmed Saleem and Vice President Mohamed Zahid.

The Commission expressed concern and regret that when MPs debate on bills presented at the People’s Majlis, they sometimes ignore the Commission’s comments.

The report mentions complaints made by the public directly to the HRCM.

Out of 490 total complaints made in 2009, 322 were resolved and 168 are still pending.

The highest number of complaints, 139, were job-related cases. The HRCM said most of these complaints were from people working at resorts. Thirty-seven of these cases are still unresolved.

The second highest number was relating to housing and property rights, the HRCM having received 57 complaints last year, 26 of which are still pending.

Police-related complaints amounted to 55, and eight were related to violence (all of these being marked as ‘resolved’).

Two complaints were relating to murder. Both are still pending investigation.

There were 16 complaints relating to child abuse, which was one of the issues they listed as their main priority to tackle this year. Nine are pending investigation.

The report claims the crime rates in the country have risen. It reads that communities in the Maldives have reached a state of fear mainly because of “failure to enforce sentences for convicts.”

It adds that “a large number of convicts are loose in society.”

Complaints relating to the judiciary system were 31, ten of which are still unresolved.

Problems with riots in jails were also listed as a main priority.

Members of the HRCM visited several jails last year including Maafushi jail, Malé jail, Feydhu Finolhu jail and S. Gan temporary jail.

They also visited Hinmafufhi Rehabilitation centre, Dhoonidhu police custodial and the Emigration detention centre, where they conducted their research.

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Three men arrested for attack on Habib Bank manager

Police have arrested three men in connection with the armed robbery of Habib Bank’s country manager, Mohamed Anjul Jameel.

Chief inspector of police Mohamed Jamsheed identified the three men as Ali Shuaib (19) of Kumundhu in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Abdulla Aseel (20) of Galolhu Coralsea and Ibrahim Abdulla (20) of Galolhu Fehima.

Jamsheed suggested that there was one more man involved in the case, but he had not yet been arrested.

He said the gang attacked the bank manager “after collecting a lot of information about him.”

”It was well planned and organised,” Jamsheed said. ”Two of them followed the manager when he was coming home after work that day.”

He said Ali Shuaib was arrested in connection with a murder case last year, “on suspicion of killing a Bangladeshi man by hitting him with a three-foot long log,” he said.

Shuaib was ultimately acquitted by the criminal court, Jamsheed added.

Police sergeant Abdul Muhsin said the three men had police records of assault, drug related cases and robbery.

In an interview with Haveeru, the manager of Habib Bank said that while he had always described the Maldives to his friends as a “harmonious country”, the attack had changed his view completely.

“I am leaving, never to return,” he said.

The 56 year old was stabbed when four men broke into his apartment on the sixth floor of Machangolhi Uraha in Male’.

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