“If you have any loyalty, an atom’s worth of love for your country, you soldiers, you judges will not allow our country to go down this path,” Nasheed said in an emotional appeal on Wednesday.
Social activism website Avaaz has said it remains concerned at “the appalling state” of women’s rights in the Maldives, despite welcoming a decision by the High Court this week to overturn a controversial flogging sentence handed to a 15 year-old girl charged with consensual sex.
The Juvenile Court ruling was overturned based on discrepancies present in the girl’s statement and the fact that she was unable to correctly define the legal definition of pre-marital sex. She was also said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Assistant Representative of UNFPA Maldives Shadiya Ibrahim warns increasing rape cases reflect just “the tip of the iceberg”, as a 14 year-old girl became the latest victim in a recent surge in rape crimes.
The High Court confirmed to Minivan News that there had been no further hearings in the three months since, and no further hearings scheduled.
The Adhaalath Party has declared it has entered into a coalition agreement with resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP).
The increasing level of religious fundamentalism and conservative thinking has worsened the situation for women in the Maldives, while there has also been a regression in sensitivity towards domestic violence and gender based violence, a report by the Department of National Planning has found.
In an unprecedented move, the World Bank has joined the fight to end gender-based violence in South Asia and globally. Can it use its leverage as one of the largest donor agencies to stop flogging in the Maldives and other such discriminatory practices against women, asks Hawwa Lubna?
High-end luxury tour operator Hayes & Javis – part of the TUI group which also includes Thomson Holidays – has reported a 35 percent slump in bookings to the Maldives.