Self-vaccinations on the rise

Maldives residents are privately vaccinating themselves against the H1N1 ‘swine flu’ virus by obtaining the drug overseas, reports Haveeru.

The Health Ministry has expressed concern over the quality of the privately-imported vaccines, and asked people to be aware of the hazards of taking a substance not yet registered with the Food and Drug Authority.

The Maldives is unlikely to receive the vaccine soon, several doctors have revealed, although the country’s stock of flu treatment drug Tamiflu is said to be sufficient.

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Gang muggings net large haul

Last week a man was stabbed and robbed of Rf400,000 (over US$30,000) by a gang who attacked him at the Gadiburu roundabout near Orchid Magu in central Male’.

The previous month a pair of men were attacked with iron rods by a gang who then stole a bag containing Rf762,700 (US$60,000).

Four men were arrested by police in relation to that incident, including an underage boy, although the perpetrators of the latest assault are yet to be found.

Police Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said store owners carrying large amounts of cash at night following the close of business were particularly at risk.

“Some businesses carry around a very big amount of money [after they close],” he said. “We’re trying to give the message that business and local residents should be careful about carrying such large amounts money.”

Shiyam said in some cases businesses were putting large amounts of money into bags and then leaving them on motorbikes, a practice he described as “very careless”.

One storekeeper, the manager of a shop selling souvenirs to tourists near Republican Square, said the incidents were generating concern among local businesses.

“It’s not very common and for this to happen recently with two incidents so close together is unbelievable and very harmful. The amount of money [stolen] is huge,” he said.

“We don’t carry large amounts of money because most of our transactions are by card – it’s much safer,” he added.

Shiyam said while police had yet to apprehend anybody in relation to the most recent incident, the investigation of last month’s mugging had linked previous cases to the same people.

Businesses needing to carry large amounts of money from one location to another could ask for police assistance, he added.

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Comment & Analysis: Me sheikh, you woman

What would you think if US President Barack Obama were to appoint Benjamin Netanyahu as his special advisor to the Israel-Palestine conflict right after his speech offering an unclenched hand in friendship to the Muslim world? It would be a move that makes as much sense as President Nasheed’s recent appointment of Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed as the minister of state for home affairs.

The ministry is in charge of the police and defence forces – the maintenance of law and order in the Maldivian society. Its portfolio includes the treatment of prisoners. Was it not recently that Sheikh Rasheed voiced his wishes for re-introduction of capital punishment and amputation into the Maldivian penal code? And did President Nasheed not fundamentally disagree with Sheikh Rasheed’s position?

What confounds logic even more is that President Nasheed is putting Sheikh Rasheed in a leadership role in a ministry which says that shaping the social fabric of the nation is part of its mission and remit. An examination of the social fabric that Sheikh Rasheed would like the Maldives to be clothed in shows it to be of a cut and design that is hardly tailor-made for a democracy, to put it mildly.

Adhaalathian Utopia

For Sheikh Rasheed’s Adhaalath Party wants a Maldivian society in which there would be not just capital punishment, amputation and flogging. It would also be a patriarchal society that would function according to something called the ‘natural order’ of things. The natural order, Fate, Karma, God’s Preordained Blueprint for Life, or whatever one might like to think of it as, is one in which men and women are quite irrevocably different from each other.

The main proof lies in the biological make-up. Male and female reproductive organs are different. For those who cite biology as the reason for man’s superiority, the reproductive organs also testify to man’s mental superiority over women. One might ask whether, by the same logic, it follows that the intellectual superiority accorded on the basis of biological differences mean that it is these reproductive organs that are put to use when such men need their mental faculties to function – but one should not be so supercilious in one’s attitude towards such learned, scholarly dignitaries, so let us move on.

Even a perfunctory empirical examination of the societal idyll that Adhaalath Party has outlined for the Maldives, in their various publications online, renders one aghast that the leader of this party has now been appointed to a position that would allow for such thinking to be actualised. There is plenty of material to choose from, but the focus of this article is on the place women are to have in this ‘Adhaalathian Utopia’.

Women are equal to men, says Adhaalath. When it comes to domestic violence, that is. Take for example Lorena Bobbitt who in 1993 cut off her cheating husband’s ‘male organ’, as Adhaalath so very delicately put it. Rather than being a one off incident (excuse the pun), for the Adhaalath party it is representative of womankind as a whole, and shows just how wrong it is for women to claim such an ‘entitlement’ to victimhood in domestic abuse.

Now weigh this against the World Development Report of the same year which stated that ‘violence causes more death and disability worldwide amongst women aged 15-44 than war, cancer, malaria or traffic accidents’. Or measure it against the fact that 70 per cent of women experience violence from men in their lifetime or the fact that ‘at least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her’.

No matter, the enraged Mrs Bobbitt’s impromptu surgery on the very part of the philandering Mr Bobbitt’s anatomy that stood as testament to his superiority proved beyond any reasonable doubt that these ‘notions’ of ‘victimhood’ that women entertain are just silly female ideas that have no place in ‘the natural order of things’.

“Somewhere around Bombay”

Similarly, women cannot honestly claim to have no equality when it comes to rape either. For Adhaalath – without reference to any source material – provides ample ‘proof’ that this is simply not the case. One Adhaalath commentator, for example, tells his readers of having spotted a headline in capital letters [if it is in capital letters, then surely it must be true] in some newspaper somewhere in a remote part of India that a group of women used to phone a hapless doctor to come make house calls only to be gang-raped by a group of female ‘patients’ when he arrived at the door.

Adhaalath can also inform readers that ‘somewhere in or around Bombay’, sometime in 1989, another group of women gang-raped a boy who died in their violent sexually-depraved hands. These are not isolated cases – although they do appear to be concentrated ‘somewhere around Bombay’ – for there was another case where a farmer was raped by a group of horny women whose violent sexual machinations robbed the poor farmer of his life.

‘These incidents should be viewed as discriminatory, bigoted ideas about women being victims of sexual violence at the hands of men. Men are suffering on a similar scale at the not-so-delicate hands of women. ‘It is an injustice in itself to think that women alone are victims of violence in this world’. No one is claiming this to be the case, but then again why listen to these ridiculous ‘Western notions’ in their entirety?

Anyway, the only reason that studies and figures from world organizations investigating such matters are mainly concerned with women’s victimhood is probably because they have failed to include this particular area ‘somewhere around Bombay’ in their data collection and analyses. Ah, the laxness of research these days.

Now that it has been established it would be wrong for anyone to think that Adhaalath Party is of the opinion that men and women are entirely unequal, let us return to the ‘natural order’ according to which the ‘Adhaalathian Utopia’ would function. It is a picture best painted in the words of Adhaalath itself – no one else could render it quite so evocatively as their writers, nor be as eloquent in the depiction of their vision for a new Maldivian society.

The following is an extract of a publication by on the role of women in society. The Adhaalath material is an abridged translation from an article that appeared on the Adhaalath website in July 2008.

“The ‘natural order’ is one in which men and women simply cannot be equal. This is as natural and irrefutable a fact as the earth revolving around the sun. Human lifestyle is based around the very same natural order, the same organizing principles as those found in nature.”

(…)

“All human life is run according to this ‘natural order’. The problem that we are confronted with today is that there are an increasing number of people trying to upset the system. The main problem is the increasingly loud voices of ‘certain people working for women’s independence who insist in calling for gender equality’. ‘These people’ are claiming that men and women are equal! ‘This is absolutely and completely against the natural order’ of the world. This policy has devalued the family by destroying the family structure that forms the very foundation of society.”

(…)

“It makes absolutely no sense that the family should be exempt from the rules of management that apply to any other business – a manager is appointed to run the show and the minions follow him. To appoint the husband as the director/manager of the family is not to say that the wife is inferior, nor is it to say that the husband is superior. The husband should be in charge of planning, strategizing and running the business of family – this is the natural order of things, and what God intended. Just like He intended the earth to revolve around the sun, and that night should follow day.”

“Should we listen to ‘those people’ agitating for equality between men and women, catastrophe and destruction will follow. For appointing the husband the head of a family is as natural as appointing a boss over employees, a prime minister over ministers – this is only a matter of practical and administrative concern, not a suggestion of superiority of one person or group over another.”

“In terms of status, men and women are equal; both sexes deserve equal respect. Sometimes women are even more equal than men. It’s just that they need guidance and supervision of men without which they would be helplessly bumbling about, trying to make sense of a world without order.”
(…)

“This is the main problem of modern times. According to notions of equality fostered by modernity, men and women rushed into employment together. This has led to increasing unemployment because it deprived men of their [God-given] rightful place in the labour force. Once women forgot their place at home the so-called problem of unemployment arose. There is no tangible development or benefit to be seen from women having joined the workforce.”

(…)

“Now that they have joined the workforce, nothing is being done at home. As a direct consequence, the whole society is rife with problems. This is the real reason behind such mayhem: women forgot their place in the natural order.”

What (or should I say, with what) possibly could President Nasheed have been thinking? Can anyone see the logic behind his appointment of the learned Sheikh Rasheed as state minister for home affairs in light of such ‘enlightened’ policy his party espouses? No doubt that Sheikh Rasheed is popular and that he is ‘the great Islamic scholar’ that his 194-strong Facebook fan-base tells us he is. But, what place does the kind of thinking espoused by his Adhaalath Party have in a democracy? By giving him such a portfolio, President Nasheed is upholding policies and ideas that should be anathema to a democracy. Shame. And here we were almost convinced by those learned men that timidity is an entirely female characteristic.

Munirah Moosa is a journalism and international relations graduate. She is currently engaged in research into the ‘radicalisation’ of Muslim communities and its impact on international security.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Letter on gang muggings

Dear Editor,
I urge police to do their work without giving us lame excuses. Earlier it was said that the Dictator Maumoon and chief torturer Adam Zahir was doing all these things, now who is to blame?

Is it the commissioner of the police or the president? But i doubt that the problem is with some incompetent senior police officers who don’t even have a clue what their responsibility is. Now that the whole of society is paralyzed with all these stabbing even the media doesn’t cover these incidents if some is stabbed people usually ask did he die?

The police will come up with the same statement “ithurah thahugeegu kuranee” (the investigation is ongoing – the same philosophy of policing in Maumoon’s time)…there’s no follow up!

For God’s sake this is just one mile, please make us safe “where’s anneh dhivehiraaje”? If something has got be neutral it’s not the carbon that ordinary citizens are concerned about it’s gangs and violence and the drugs in Male’; unfortunately the present government is also giving excuses for inability and incompetent policing in Maldives.

Regards,
Anonymous

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Commonwealth’s lustre fading, finds survey

The Commonwealth has a very low profile among the public, especially the young, and policymakers, according to a new global public consultation.

Less than one-third of the people interviewed as part of the Commonwealth Conversation, to mark the association’s 60th anniversary, could name any of its activities, with the majority only able to cite the Commonwealth Games.

Policymakers struggled to identify areas to the Commonwealth clearly added value. Those working in Commonwealth organisations expressed frustration that the association was being neglected by member governments and lacked an ambitious vision for its future.

“This is a wake up call for the Commonwealth. After 60 years of fantastic work, the Commonwealth has to choose between quietly retiring or boldly revitalising itself for the 21st century,” said Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, director of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

The Commonwealth Conversation surveyed tens of thousands of people across almost all its 53 member states via online and offline activities.

The investigation’s findings further revealed that the Commonwealth was “more often valued by Anglophiles and those nostalgic for an imperial past than those committed to the internationalist values of the association”.

The report suggested rebuilding the Commonwealth’s profile to highlight its principles, priorities and the people involved.

Contributing to the report, Kenyan Vice President H E Kalonzo Musyoka said, “We don’t hear the voice of the Commonwealth loud enough. It is a very well established body but I do feel that it needs a sense of renewal.”

Last week, Commonwealth heads met in Trinidad and Tobago for their annual meeting where climate change was the main topic on the agenda.

Leaders welcomed a US$10 billion climate package to help developing countries ahead of the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen this month, which analysts have argued will help revive the Commonwealth’s standing.

Non-Commonwealth leaders such as Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and French President Nicolas Sarkozy as well as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made appearances for the first time.

In a statement at the end of the two-day conference, leaders agreed to consider strengthening the role of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to enable it to deal with the full range of serious and persistent violations of the association’s fundamental values.

The Maldives was included in the group, established by the Commonwealth heads of government in 1995 to uphold the Harare Declaration, which lays down the association’s fundamental values and membership criteria.

Leaders expressed concern over the deterioration in the political situation in Fiji with regard to its adherence to fundamental Commonwealth values and said they would consider Zimbabwe’s re-entry into the organisation over the next few years.

In addition to signing a climate change declaration, participants agreed to admit Rwanda as the 54th member; a decision which alarmed some human rights organisations.

Also at the summit, Sri Lanka was blocked from hosting the next meeting of Commonwealth leaders in protest at the country’s military repression against the Tamil population earlier this year.

While the Sri Lankan government succeeded in ending a 26-year civil war against the Tamil Tigers, they have been accused of widespread human rights abuses in achieving their goal.

Instead, countries voted for Australia to host next year’s conference.

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Budget falls short of development pledges: DRP

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has expressed regret over the proposed 2010 mid-term budget, which it argues will fail to deliver on the development pledges of the incumbent government.

The largest opposition party said the budget had a deficit of Rf4.7 billion (US$366 million), noting that while Rf7.2 billion (US$560 million) is expected in revenue, this was accounted for 60 per cent of the budget.

“It is further doubtful that the revenue goals could be reached since a large part of the income rests upon taxes to be levied under laws that would be made in the future,” a statement from the party said.

Addressing MPs last week, Finance Minister Ali Hashim said the government had proposed a number of measures to generate around US$354 million to plug the deficit. These included foreign aid, foreign loan assistance, privatisation of government companies and the sale of treasury bills through the Maldives Monetary Authority.

In their statement, the DRP further noted that Hashim said government revenue depended on three new taxes, legislation for which was currently pending in parliament.

But, the party continued, the Rf3.4 billion (US$265 million) expected in tax revenue in next year’s budget was only three per cent higher than tax revenue in 2008.

Last week, Hashim urged MPs to pass the taxation legislation before the end of the year and said a goods and services tax would be imposed on tourist resorts and hotels in the final quarter of 2010, which he anticipated would raise Rf358 million (US$27 million) in revenue.

Revenue

The party further noted that at Rf333 million (US$26 million) revenue from profits of government companies was significantly lower than 2009 because of the government’s policy of selling off state assets.

DRP pointed to the government’s decision to sell seven per cent of its stake in the highly profitable Dhiraagu, the country’s first telecommunications company, to British company Cable & Wireless for US$40 million.

“We believe that another reason for the decrease of income from government companies is handing over management of these companies to unqualified people for political purposes,” their statement said.

Since coming to power, the government has introduced a policy of public-private partnerships it hopes will enhance the efficiency of state-owned enterprises.

Beyond the 40 per cent deficit, another of the issues raised by the DRP was the lack of funding for large development projects such as a national university,

“The extraordinarily high government expenditure casts doubts on the government’s talk of reducing expenditure,” the statement said, further claiming that a large portion of the total expenditure on government employees, Rf3.9 billion (US$304 million), would be spent on political appointees.

Even with the reduction of civil servants’ salaries and dismissals, expenditure on salaries is higher than previous years, the DRP said.

In August, the government announced a raft of austerity measures to help alleviate the budget deficit. These included pay cuts of up to 20 per cent for civil servants and all political appointees ranked deputy minister and above, cutting back on foreign trips, and letting go of all government-rented buildings.

Both the president and the vice-president also volunteered to take a 20 per cent pay cut to their salaries.

Despite a high number of political appointees, the government continues to maintain that it has made fewer appointments than the former administration.

“Benefit for the people”

In their statement, the opposition party described the interest on loans as “alarming”, noting that compared to Rf279 million (US$22 million) in 2008, the amount raised from interest in 2010 will be Rf529 million (US$41 million).

The party said that while the government’s policy was to reduce the size of the government, the proposed expenditure in 2010 will be higher than in previous years.

The DRP further pointed to the increase in foreign debt from Rf755 million (US$59 million) in 2008 to Rf1,057 million (US$82 million) in 2010, adding that the interest rate had not been revealed.

“Our only hope is that this mid-term budget will be amended for the benefit of the people and the country and pave way for development. We give full assurance to the beloved people that we will do everything we can in parliament,” the statement concluded.

Speaking to MPs at parliament, Hashim said that by the IMF government finance statistics measure, the deficit for 2009 was 26.1 per cent.

But, he added, if the mid-term budget was implemented, although there would be a decline to 14.8 per cent in 2010 and 2.4 per cent in 2011, it will reach a surplus in 2012.

Hashim said the structure of the budget was agreed upon after consultations with the International Monetary Fund and recommendations by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

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Vaccination programme relocated

Vaccination programmes for young children have been moved from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) to Thaajudheen school temporarily, Miadhu reports.

IGMH said the move was necessary to ensure young children were not exposed to Influenza A which was on the rise.

Children under five are considered vulnerable to Influenza A.

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Woman tests positive of Influenza A

A 23-year-old woman has tested positive for Influenza A in Thaa atoll Kandhoodhoo bringing the total up to 35, Miadhu reports.

Last week an 18-year-old boy from the island also tested positive for the influenza.

Influenza A has been detected on the following islands: Alif Alif Rasdhoo, Noonu Manadhoo, Shaviyani Goidhoo and Lhaimago, Gnaviyani Fuamulah, Vaavu Thinadhoo, Meemu Kolhufushi and Mulaku, Raa Inguraidhoo and the capital Male’.

There have so far been 12 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) and one death.

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Coco Palm resort wins ‘Best Luxury Hotel’

High-end resort Coco Palm at Bodu Hithi island won the prestigious “Best Luxury Hotel 2009” award from the World Luxury Hotel Awards.

The ceremony was held last week in Thailand.

In a press release, the resort said it was honoured by the distinction, “which sets Coco Palm Hithi as a benchmark for luxury hotels around the world.”

Hotels are nominated for the award by guests, travel agents and tour operators and voting is carried out by a panel of 50 leading travel experts.

The Bodu Hithi resort, based in North Male Atoll, consists of 100 villas, including 32 perched on wooden stilts over the lagoon.

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