Elections scheduled on Wednesday for women’s committees

Elections are due to take place in 102 islands on Wednesday for women’s committees to work with the existing island councils.

Local Government Authority (LGA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Ahmed Shukuree however told local daily Haveeru yesterday (November 4) that there were no candidates from 44 islands. The LGA plans to fix a date for elections in the 44 islands after sharing information on the importance of the committees, he said.

While elections would be held in 102 islands, constituencies where only one candidate applied, such as in some areas of Male’ and Addu City, would not require an election, Shukuree said.

Aside from nine-member committees for three islands, five member committees would be elected in 159 islands and seven members committees in 26 islands, according to the LGA.

Under article 36 of the landmark Decentralisation Act (Dhivehi), the powers and responsibilities of women’s committees are: (a) Advise island council on matters related to island development and municipal services provided by the council; (b) Own properties and conduct business activities with others in the name of the committee; (c) Sue and be sued in the name of the committee; (d) Conduct various activities for income generation and for the development of women; (e) Work to uphold the rights of women; (f) Work to increase religious awareness amongst women; (g) Work to increase political participation of women; (h) Work to increase the numbers of women enrolled in higher  education; (i) Work to improve the health condition of women; (j) Gather important information related to the women; (k) Manage assets and finance of the committee.