At midnight Rachael, 25, returned from a friend’s place. Glancing around to make sure she was not being followed, she climbed the stairs to her seventh-floor apartment in Male’.
When she’d first arrived from the UK several months ago to work on a government project, she had smiled and replied to the greetings thrown her way on the street. She stopped doing it when the men started following her.
Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and was closing the door, when a strange Maldivian man charged at her from a concealed alcove.
A struggle ensued, and the man forced the door open and pushed his way into the room.
“I work here,” the man said. Rachael moved behind a chair and demanded what he was doing.
Part of her apartment was leased as a workspace by the owner of the flat, but she had never seen this man before.
He approached her, claiming he was cleared to work in the building at night. Suddenly he lunged at her, pushing the chair away, and pinned her to the wall.
He started groping her. Terrified, Rachael kneed him and with all her strength managed to push him out the still open door using the office chair.
He stood outside for a while asking to be let back in.
Rachael called a friend who came around, and she moved to a hotel for the night. The next morning she called the police.
“They were wonderful, they came and took fingerprints and gave me a number to get in touch with them, in case I saw the man again,” she said.
Today Rachael shares a flat; she is terrified of living alone. She has seen her attacker once again on the street – he gave her a leery smile as he passed, which added to her insecurities.
“I have no hard feelings towards Maldivians, this was something that could have happened anywhere in the world,” says Rachael. But she is now especially wary of the vulgar words, and the way some young men on the streets of Male’ try to brush up against her – even pushing her into shop windows.
Rachael’s ordeal seems to be an extreme case and thankfully a rare one. But her expatriate friends are not impressed with the way they are harassed on the streets.
An everyday ordeal
Harassment is a daily occurance for them, and takes many forms, sexually explicit comments to remarks about their anatomy. But it is often persistent, they say, despite the fact that as working expatriates they are very concious of the way they dress.
Alice, 28, has been in the country working as a teacher for less than six months.
Once she was on the streets with a group of her students, aged between 9 to 11 years old.
“A bunch of teenage boys started saying how they’d like to f—k me,” she recalls.
Alice ignored it at first, but it continued and unable to bear it, she went up to them and asked them why they were talking like that, especially as she had children with her.
“The boys pretended they didn’t speak English, and the moment I walked away, started passing vulgar comments, even directing them towards the children” she says.
Her students told her that it was a common. Fuming she phoned the police.
“The police seemed to find it amusing until I told them that I had children with me – and wasn’t that a problem?”
The police had a chat with the boys that still remained, as some had already left by then: ”At least those boys don’t do that anymore,” she says.
Her colleagues told her these things happen and that nobody complains as “they are under age boys and police can’t do anything.”
Racheal says she knows of another foreign woman working in Male’ who was recently had a taxi driver force is way into her apartment after driving her home. He claimed to be searching her flat for alcohol.
Several other foreign women have complained of being groped by passing motorcyclists, and requests for ‘a quote’ are common, they say.
Few complaints
Police confirm that they “rarely get complaints of this nature.” Police spokesman Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam says last year there were few complaints.
When he filled in the role of a duty officer for a week, “ I didn’t get even one complaint,” he said, urging women to report if they are harassed.
Shiyam said depending on what the person has done, “under the public nuisance laws, we can prepare a case and send it to Prosecutor General’s office.”
The police have a separate tourist policy and he says that harassment is hardly a concern “as it’s a very rare occurrence with tourists.”
However he adds that many “tourists always walk around with a tour guide, so they are never alone,” unlike foreign women working in the country.
He reiterates that people should lodge complaints: “we will take it seriously and find the culprits involved and take action against them.”
Price of being a foreigner
Reactions from locals to the issue are mixed.
All the Maldivian women questioned said incidents were mostly confined to verbal harassment, and most said it was decreasing.
Aiminath, 18, says couple of years ago the problem was much worse – “now it’s mostly limited to rare catcalls or a passing remark.”
Leena, 26, who is fair skinned and wears a veil, says she often gets comments along the lines of “your face looks like a jambu” (a fruit).
Fazeela, a trendy 28 year-old says “nowadays sometimes people actually pass complimentary remarks, on how I have done my hair, or how I am dressed.”
But Zareena, 35, a mother of two, says the younger generation is getting worse.
“It’s mostly teenage boys who pass extremely vulgur comments like: ‘look how that thing jiggles’,” she says.
She floats the theory that physical harassment directed at local women has lessened, “as guys know that we will scream, and slap them and embarrass them if they try anything.”
The physical harassment seems to be now directed at foreign women, with the culprits mostly young teenage boys and guys in their late 20’s.
“Brushing up against us on the street, or trying to pin us up against the wall and touch us is a common occurrence,” says a friend of Alice.
Rebecca has been in Maldives for two years now, and says she is always very careful to be culturally sensitive and dress appropriately: “I cover my arms, chest and legs when I am outside.”
Despite the fact that she finds it “far too hot” to dress like that, she says she always dresses modestly “but it seems to make no difference.”
Rebecca has also lived in countries like Malaysia and suffered harassment, “but never to this extent.”
“I love this country and find Maldivians to be a very friendly and nice people,” but says what she endures on the streets is horrific.
The stares men give her on the street are neither casual nor flirtatious, Rebecca says.
”It’s more like they are looking at something pornographic, without any sense of self-awareness.”
The stare is often accompanied by some sexual comment.
“I wish I could tell these men that they should show more respect for women. Their mothers and sisters are women, would they like them to be treated this way?” Rebecca asks.
“There’s absolutely no justification for it. If they see us and assume we are morally lax, then how come we ignore them or run away from them when they try to talk to us?”
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the women concerned.
(0)Dislikes
(0)Related Posts
MDP protest against Supreme Court- ‘Hired for my looks’: HDC employee alleges sexual harassment
- Malé pedestrianised zones in effect from today
- Police investigating a case of sexual harassment against a student
- British High Commission to run Visa Application Centre in Malé this month
- Malé City to improve bus service based on new survey
that is real 100% muslim Maldives.when i walkin in Male you can see how well progressing future hell here/ you say in maldives 100% muslim so it means all people beleve in God and never doing harm for other?do you mean it is also 100%muslim who rape womans and child? hehehe!why you say lie to world?to collect more money for stupid projects? you have so law cultural level in Maldives,that soon no body from other country will like to work in Maldives it will be same like to go for work in Somaly and maldivian will destroing each other because they become criminals .
I didint know Maldives is in this low a state, getting worse by the day huh.
I am away from Maldives, in a country which i have come to love, Malaysia. Maldivians could learn a lot from Malaysia.
dirty, foul men bringing shame on maldives and islam
i commend Minivan news for this and continued work to bring on taboo subjects like this to public attention. No one talks abt these, BUT in the maldives its horrif seen as many have described.. Tourists are harrassed, foreign workers are harrased in more or less the same way they harrase local women BUT there is a huge difference when it comes to foreigners. BY default (maldivians are indoctrinated to think that) Europeans or people from outside asia especailly are promiscuous, without moral or goal in life. the xenophobic teachings in maldivian culture gravitates towards the notion the infidels are some horny animals who are drunk all the time (which could not be any wronger).
I sincerely am surprized we still have foreign women working here in Male' or islands! i am men but i could not imagine eduring the stares and the demeaning half wit comments from the careless, useless bunch of youth or adults... but at the same time i understand why locals behave the way they do. the sexually deprived, society oppressed and living in poor conditions, i can only hope things would get better as people get more educated (Which does not seem to be the trend for now however)...
thank you Aishat again for this. These are things i have pondered long ago as a citizen of this country but never heard anyone talking abt in a public domain.
Why is everyone "just" worried about this. We are seeing the conditions deteriorate and the only thing Anni is concerned about is getting more dirty and corrupt politicians up his sleeve or working day and night to prove Gayyoom that Anni is a better environmental campaigner than Gayyoom..
Has Anni done anything to curb the violence or did he even think a bit about getting the youth under control. By reading news articles I myself am able to gather facts that can put light on how we can solve this problem. Root causes being.
1. If you look into the demographics of the violent criminals more than 80% is from the Atolls.
Why people from atolls? Here is how I see it. Children are send from atolls for studies in Male and they live with a care taker. In most cases the caretaker only thinks of the monies and does not even bother to look into what the child does. Poor grades is blamed on the child with the comment "Raajje therey meehun fas kulhandhu madhu vaane" whereas it is utter neglect that make them weak in studies. If he comes home late at night there is no one to ask a question or ground him. Even if he doesn't come home at all they don't care. So end of the day the child and caretaker both has to scratch each other's backs in from of the parent. By the time the child is 14 or 15 he is part of a gang. The caretaker will not even ask who his friends are let alone doing a background check.
Multiply this by 2000 or 3000 kids and we end up with multiple gangs who disguise themselves as running a small business but runs the drugs trade. A gang is a family. The get the care the real caretaker is never bothered to even consider.
2. Over Crowding: There is just no place to go other than hang around corners of Male'. There isn't even a living room at most places. The only place you can sit down or relax inside your apartment will be your bed... Nothing else.. Even then, the room will be over crowded.
3. Other illegal trades copied: Though we portray drugs trade as the worst, what I feel is corruption is worse. We all know that almost all heads of the government down to mid management is corrupt. Corruption is a contagious and this has destroyed the development of this country. So, basically you don't need to work to climb up the ladder to make a healthy living. a person with a basic pay of about 5000/- would take home 15,000/-. I know as we, as a business, get calls from strangers working in the government regarding tenders and to quote a price this guy recommends... He would say that he is the decision maker.
4. Parenting: There is something called a parental lock on your cable TV decoder. Use it.
5. Teachers and Education Ministry: They do not want to couch the students to tackle challenges of like. Automatic promotion at the end of the year is the worst that I can think of. Students should know that if they don't work they aren't gonna pass.
The list goes on and on..
Only a dictator can save this country. Not a farce in the name of Democracy...
Criminals are not punished in Maldives. Maldivian Police is incapable of going against with these criminals.
Drug addicts and other criminals go free on the roads and harass people again and again. They are the only people who has freedom in this country. Male' is under grip of these criminals. They stab anyone and can escape in Male'.
Solution:
Don't believe in Maldives Police. They can do nothing for us. They will investigate but no criminals will get punishment.
Society needs to beat the immoral people. They should beat drug addicts and the criminals should get fear from the society. Society should punish these criminals by beating them. The justice and Order on the same day is possible.
Brothers! This is a true sign that radical Islam is working well and good. Our youngsters behave exactly same way as their muslim Arab brothers, I am sorry to say.
Fever is not a disease but a symptom of it.
The social fabric of this country has been ripped to shreds by the influx of this 'new Islam', supported by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs aka the adhaalath party.
According to this 'new Islam' and its alleged 'scholars' such as Zakir Naik, if a woman is not in hijab (or mummified in yards of fabric) then she can expect to be harassed by men. Women are required to hide themselves behind all this fabric, for fear of being molested. This 'new Islam' suggests that women are not safe and have to be in constant fear of men. Therfore, they have to dress in such a way that they are in a constant state of hiding from men.
Clearly, this sends a message to the men and boys of this country that women should be fearful of them. When women fear men, it automatically puts men in a position of power over women. For men, this provides justification for inducing fear among women through harassment, molestation and attacks on women who do not conform to this dress code.
Women are portrayed by this 'new Islam' as objects of men's carnal desire, whose primary role in this life and the next is simply to satisfy the needs of men.
No wonder then, that these men act with such impunity against women, because their newfound faith endorses this uncivilised and backward beahaviour. It also gives them infinite power over others. While this 'new Islam' shows no respect for women, it takes men back to a state of being a predator. This new 'faith' seem to have no human values of respect for the other person, for the simple reason that the other person is a human being, the same as oneself.
The utter lack of respect for women this 'new Islam' preaches is destructive to the whole society. The consequences of it affects all women in this country, including locals and foreigners alike.
Women's experiences of being grabbed, touched and molested by men on the streets at any time of day or night, are increasing. This shows that far too many of the men and boys in this country consider it justifiable to harass women, given their elevated position as men, of whom women should be afraid. The inferior position in which women are placed in this 'new Islam' puts them in constant fear of the predator man.
The complete lack of self-respect, self discipline and social values among the male perpetrators of this criminal behaviour can be seen as a direct result of the backward views endorsed by this 'new Islam'.
This writer remembers a time when Maldivian women walked the streets of Male' at any time of day or night without being fearful of the men in this society. There was a time when the fear of the supernatural was far greater than the fear of the male human being walking down the street with you.
@Reena it was not man, the minivan news trying to bringing shame on maldives and islam
Not that I support this..BUT we increasingly find some ODD Thailand and many other nationality "Special massage girls" on the street in Male' and young Maldivian guys carrying them on their cycles! So I wonder if its the fault of peace and honorable Maldivians who love thier country and culture OR the shameless and uncivilised "foreign girls"!!!! lets be honest guys!!! It seems Minivan wants to promote western liberal values in the Maldives and make Malives the Bankok of South Asia!!
Its not about islam or new islam...are these commenters tellin that its a problem only in islamic soceity..if women dress modestly, they r not harassed 90% of the time..and if women dress provocatively they r harassed in every society...why would you show off and not expect to be seen??
There are few elements in the population in any country who will harass women or men independent of dress code or background..
im not surprised by so many people hastily associating this with islam and muslims..thats not because there is a truth to it..thats because its the mind set of the people to blame everythin on islam..please get a life!!
Sharzra! Why on earth are you writing these sorts of waste junks in order to degrade this beautiful country, peaceful, humanitarian country!!! , where there’s no drug problem, no gang fights, no robbery, no mugging, no gang rapes.. etc also with the most competent police force in this area .. , really I am stunned by this stupid report , after you’ve been working in that President’s office I think your blinded to these common crimes in this tiny country ... You should pray to GOD that these foreign workers haven’t been stabbed and it’s obligatory to give them the right picture of this country…
While you’re in a position to give these stories to president why are you spreading these to general public? Is it to make more chaos and panic? why only about foreigners why didn’t you ask Police sub inspector who ever it was about our own people ? a guy was stabbed even yesterday while he was watching world cup? No he’s in ICU !! Why didn’t this come to your attention?
Shazra it’s your boss who is responsible to make this country are safe and secure place for the general public! He’s the boss of police and MNDF!! “Do you remember when a guy is stabbed during maumoon the dictator’s rule ... You and others MDP runs to the hospitals calling for the resignation of commissioner of police and the home minister “ but now you guys are just sitting and watching the drama , President recently condemn these attacks and what your doing is better than that? Now nearly 2 years public is sick and tired of these daily nuisance, “miadhu hendhunu thoonu echahkun hamlaa dheefi polihun ithurah thahugeegu kuranee .. esoru ICU ga” next day another guy .. please shazra wake up … "no concrete policies to curb gang violence why? is it that difficult ? is it better to neutral carbon or to neutral these crimes in male? take poll then you will know what the public needs if you don't know shazra
You may have confused the author with someone else. Our Aishath Shazra does not work in the President's Office, nor has she ever participated in an MDP event - the life of a Minivan News features writer is far too glamourous for such distractions.
This is one of the inevitable outcomes of the foreign ideology that is being relentlessly forced upon a hitherto civilised people. In part it is just an extension of the global movement to impose this ideology worldwide by brute force. Women who don't conform by being dressed “inappropriately” are fair game. The ideology makes it lawful for men who subscribe to it to have non-consensual sex with such women. That is not considered rape according to that ideology. This was demonstrated in Australia not so long ago. Three men were admitted as refugees to that country from a part of the world that subscribes to this ideology. Within days they had raped several women. In court they said that as the women did not observe the dress code acceptable to them they had become lawful for them according to their ideological code. They insisted that it was not rape. One of the men’s ideological leaders in Australia publicly backed that point of view by saying that uncovered meat left in a public place could be eaten by cats.
When I deeply think about these kinds of things I believe such problems are mostly available only in Islamic counties. In the past I have some experience from living alone as a single Maldivian lady in Switzerland, Germany and England. And I have never came across with one single problem like this. However by saying this is happening mostly in Islamic countries I don’t want to blame Islam, but hate preaching’s against women and west by Islamic Imams in Islamic countries may have a big influence towards
Such behaviours.
When you preach every minute of the day that any exposure of women's skin is an invitation for sex more of these will occur.
hehe this really isnt a new subject. i mean i know how bad it gets coz i remember back when i was 12 or 13 and i would be walking along with one of my aunts or even my mom and they would be staring and making rude remarks.. its really a shame that people have no respect for women. i now live in australia and i think as far as public behavior goes maldives could learn a thing or two from the aussies. so what if someones dressed in such a way that she looks beautiful or even sexually aluring. it shouldnt be their concern coz obviously they arn't dressing to impress the people on the road. and also i really think that people in male should start learning about this lil word called "privacy". what goes on in other peoples lives are not their concern. do they have nothing else better to do than sit around gossiping about whose dating who or who did what and what not? its jus pathetic. sorry to say but it really is
these are the sorts of issues that islamic ministry and islamic ngo's ought to be working to solve. i think they could make a real difference if they wanted to.
What do you expect. We aren't taught to respect people at any stage. We aren't taught about how diverse the worlds cultures are and how we can get along.
I was told in high school by our Islam teacher that "killing infidels" was something I should be proud of doing and that "foreigners" were dirty and only interested in sex and "destroying Islam".
That is no excuse though. What of the parents of these children? Are they just as vulgar? Even if they aren't, there are subtleties that make it sound as if this sort of thing is OK; ie: you shouldn't harass people because you might get in trouble, NOT that shouldn't harass people because you're being disrespectful.
woman:
Your comment should be pasted around the Maldives. More women should speak out and realize that they aren't some silent, helpless majority.
The Maldives would still be stuck in the dark ages if not for our strong women.
In the past the fishermen fished but who did the rest? Who cooked, smoked, dried the fish and made rihaakuru? Who made the coir? Probably our most significant export in the past. The list goes on.
3 problems that I could see.
1. In most capital cities there is an organized sex industry. Here in Maldives the increased 'Islamization' of the society is leaving a lot of sexually repressed youth.
2. Maldivian men have a thing for 'fair' 'white' skin.
3. Sexual harassment is generally ok with a lot of Maldivian men.
I think Minivan News supports these kind of activities. In fact, this news writing against Islam and joking to our religion. Now its going toward ''Aneh Dhivehi Raahje' as the president promised.
I have also experienced this uncivilized behaviour by Maldivian boys/men many times in Male', though I have never been physically attacked, but verbally harassed (almost every day, and I am wearing modest clothing). I get comments, sometimes vulgar, mostly neutral ("fair girl").
I guess that men all over the world get the same fantasies when they see a nice woman, but it makes a difference whether to stare and make a comment, or not. I don't want to blame this on radical Islam, since I have been experiencing this before the advent of radical Islam in Maldives, but it is true that thresholds for men will come down after listening disrespectful speeches about women.
It's a matter of respect - let's turn the thing round - I know many women who find some mens' dress codes quite funny, whether it's skinny jeans or a desert outfit with an unattractive beard - but do we have to say something? Do we have to harass them, if it is their own choice to wear that?
We should also be tolerant and respect them for their choice.
There is nothing much the police or the government can do about it. The whole society has to change, it has to evolve, we need proper education, we need values, we need respect and tolerance for other cultures/religions/viewpoints. Apparently it is not religion where we are getting it from, as some of the above comments suggest.
Now this wouldn't happen if we'd all repent and start living according to the laws of islam, would it? Oh hang on, we already did that some 900 years ago.. oh well, there goes our last hope I guess..
Maumoon created this society and now the leader of this country is a product of maumoon's values. The entire leadership is full of corrupt thieves, people like sea food musthafa, abdulla jabir, red wave saleem, the list goes on. Maldivian society loves criminals. They thing criminals are great.
Great report Shazra.
Bringing Islam into the equation yields mixed or even no results. One side argues it represses sexuality, leading to frustration and unhealthy outlets. The other side argues that Islam, in fact, prevents such promiscuity and harassment.
The fundamental error here is to bring Islam into the equation in the first place. By doing so, we are letting many factors/people off the hook- education system, parental upbringing, the responsibility of the society as a whole to raise children.
Many of these commenters are blaming this on 'Radical Islam'.
As a student in Grade 10, I hear these words from my fellow classmates all the time, particularly when tourists and other foreigners pass by. If we are shown a presentation featuring women, the first thing my classmates comment on is their anatomical proportions.
Such issues are caused by a lack of moral and societal values. Up to Grade 10, we have never been taught about moral values, and respect for one another. Even at home, there is no 'adhabul insaafu' nowadays! These issues are in no way related to Islam.
I don't know any student in my school, who was brought up by 'Radical Islamist' parents (in this case, referring to Wahhabis).
It's apparent that there is some movement against Islamic influence here in the Maldives; people who want a secular government.
Instead of putting the blame on Wahhabis and other types of Islamic sects' influence, we should rather look at ourselves; what can we do to stop the issue?
lets not blame this on islam.
thanks for writing this article Shazra. hope to see more of these on issues.
So.. summing up.
As with rape, it is not really the rapists fault at all.
It is the lady's problem for being fair skinned or 'dressing provocatively' by showing their hair and/or arms.
It's never a good idea to provoke us 'good muslims'.
Islam
Many Maldivian boys/men seems to have little or no awareness of themselves, and no respect either for themselves or others. Therefore in order to boost their non existent ego they resort to vulgarity and more increasingly physically attacking and raping women, and also men (gang violence).
It is sad to see young boys and men get so easily titillated with a little "jiggle", skin or just the form of a female body. Obviously there is something wrong with the way children r brought up, how there is no respect or etiquette... This sadly is increasing...and women who do not wear the full veil r increasingly seen as asking for or deserving of the vulgar comments and rape.
i also believe boys and young adults r fast learning from their elders and how women r gawked at or trailing whispers of the anatomy of a woman or what the older man wud like to do, if he was younger...
It's getting worse...esp since the men seems to be oblivious to the wrong they do...and women & sound minded men...instead of fighting to make it better...resorts to hide...and stay silent...
Also more and more men r justifying their lewd behaviour thru a twisted/demented interpretation of Islam. BUT their is NOTHING Islamic about the behaviour of such men and nor can any justification be justified in the eyes of Allah or made made laws. FULL STOP!!
If a woman does not wear hijab, every man have the right harass her & she's the one who should be responsible & she's the one who should bear the shin,that's what i learned from Mr.Naik,Ilyaas,Fareed...etd THANKS ADAALATH & SALAF for giving us the power.Come on everybody start harassing you sisters & daughters just like in Pakistan... what a life.
This is nothing to do with Islam. Our successive governments be it Maumoon or Anni - none has action taken action to prosecute criminals instead they are let loose - whether drug traffic, mugging, robbery, sexual offences. Youngsters have lost their direction thanks to the government, primarily of Maumoon. We urge the elite of Maldives to stand up and raise their voices and give us the peaceful life we once had.
The police and local authorities have to give a good punishment to 1 'horny' guy who harrasses foreigners or locals, that's all. When the message reaches of what happened to their 'friend', The rest will know where to stand after that.
Oh come on...Shazra, stop making a big hoo-haa about this. it exists in all countries. men will hoot at women. When women are parading semi-nude on the television or streets, it will get the young hormones worked up. Wake up!
AA Mohamed.
What you say is correct but the problem in the Maldives is that the Elite existed in the form of Beyfulhun. The Maldivian society decided to do away with Befulhism and to follow the leadership of the commoner. The problem with the Commoner is that though they have all now got a good education and some attaining to Phd level they lack the characteristics of an Elite. Because of this lack of character the country led by these commoners are deprived of a well mannered respected society with high morals and values.
I quote below a passage from Wikipedia to show that in most societies there existed an elite and still exist within the society some form of elitism though with opposition for them to function and progress as a society in a civilized manner.
Our elite now comprises of the likes of Sea Food musthafa, abdulla Jabir, Buruma Qasim, Mahloof, Ali Waheed, Dhon Bileth and all other activists of the political parties.
For information I quote below from Wiklpedia.
" An elite theory as developed by political scientists like Michael Parenti, all sufficiently large social groups will have some kind of elite group within them that actively participates in the group's political dynamics. When a group is arbitrarily excluded from the larger society, such as in the case of the racism that was widespread in the United States prior to the success of the American Civil Rights Movement, then elite members of the excluded group may form a counter-elite to fight for their group's interests (although they may be fighting for those interests only to the extent they mesh with the counter-elite's interests). Of course, the dominant elite can neutralize the counter-elite through the classic divide-and-conquer strategy of admitting key members of the counter-elite into the elite. Another popular tactic is to assassinate the counter-elite. Without their leaders the downtrodden revert to helplessness. It has been argued that certain Black civil rights leaders have been killed to prevent common Blacks from demanding reparations for slavery, etc.
Some elite groups speak a language that is not shared by the commonality: in Tsarist Russia and in Vietnam, the elite spoke French, in the Philippines the elite spoke, and in many cases still speak, Spanish. In Plantagenet England, the elite spoke Anglo-Norman, while Finland was ruled by a Swedish-speaking elite up to the beginning of the 20th century and in Ptolemaic Egypt the elite spoke Koine Greek. In ancient India, Sanskrit was spoken by the elite class. (See linguistic imperialism.) Elites establish correct usage for the language when they share one with the commonality. Elite usage is reflected in "prescriptive" dictionaries; common usage is reflected in "descriptive" dictionaries. Elites establish cultural canons, which are more widely agreed-upon within the elite and more generally ignored or resented among the non-elite. In the 1950s, the British elite spoke what linguists of the time called U English or Received Standard English (RSE).
I am not promoting Beyfulhism here. What I am saying is the when you replace an Elite of a country with the commoner there bound to be many unwanted occurances in the society and it’s a price that Maldivians have undertaken to pay.
The young generation of Maldives should all be gathered into one place and burned alive. Film the event, breed a new generation and show them the video and warn them that this is what is going to happen to them too if they don't know how to behave. This is the only way we can get back the previous peacefull and well mannered Maldivians.
this report could have explored the real issues. apart from reporting an incident the writer could have explored more in to the current social issues. Thus trying to understand what could be done to avoid these circumstances. I agree that sexual harassment and similar is very low graded act. They are generally occurring at all levels in Maldivian society. This is frequent in workplace or another. so the question we need to explore is why is happening continuously..Theres a reason for incidents..and usually an acceptable solution can be reached by understand the core issues..
With increasing women wearing the veil, the Maldivian youth doesn't get to see enough of normally dressed women. Subsequently when they set their eyes on an even modestly unveiled women, they seem to enjoy the beauty and find hard to resist from anti social behaviors. The Maldivian youth and even middle aged men badly need to learn good manners and behave like gentlemen. IN Western societies too, men enjoy the sight of beautiful ladies but they will never put a woman at unease with a fixed stare.
For them it is quite normal even if a girl went around in mini skirt! It is not an invitation for rape for normal people although some scholars have so suggested.
I am very proud to know that there are such open minded and understanding people in maldives. I come from Msia and we are not too far off with similar problems but not to this extent.
Hopefully with the support of open minded and fair thinking people like you, your government will eventually 'wake up'.
For one they are at risk of losing female foreign workers or tourists if this continues.
cheers to you!
Minivannews , ok did anybody name shazra worked their earlier, and now she’s is now working in presidents office in senior post? And president’s borther nazim works there !! as far as I know , as I’ve said it’s better that minivannews to report directly to the president on these issue’s , and this really isn’t and issue cause there are much graver crimes committed daily in male , stabbing and killing , so it’s just like Washington post reporting on serious marijuana when there are thousands of cocaine and heroin traffickers , that’s the reason why I’ve said this report is a waste of time … please direct your reporting on real issue’s cause minivannews is the only one news which has investigative ability in it’s writing .. thank you
Ah,like some previous people who commented on this issue said, it merely points to something called respect. Respect is currently NOT taught to an adequate level in Maldives, and neither is any form of social etiquette, nor good manners. A lot of this blame will fall on parents, and it is true. Many parents, are negligent, or simply have OTHER issues to deal with which are much more important.
Now this can be things such as bringing home an income, to pay rent, and to make sure that they don't starve. A lot of Maldivians living in Male' are currently living in a very poor, unhealthy and desperate situation. The offspring of people from such environments will definitely be different from those who were brought up by well educated, better earning and more successful parents.
Then comes this big question of what the government is currently doing. Now, how the water cycle works can be taught by a bad teacher through a badly written text book anywhere in the Maldives. But, are respect, social etiquette and manners at all taught in school or any other educational institution for that matter? No. And why? Because due to the current condition in Maldives, people feel that it is not necessary to survive in this feeble country. People just don't care about it anymore. I think the government has adjusted to this, in a very bad way.
Also, the people who talked about religion in this whole issue, I would like to say that, yes, a lot of these wahhabee propaganda is also to contribute to what is actually happening here. Nowadays, Maldivians are taught to hate the west, and this is reality. The way westerners live, the way they dress, the way they consume food, it is all somehow taught by radical people as something very much disgusting and unislamic. Constant hatred towards the west says that, anybody who doesn't wear the veil, or nowadays, anybody who doesn't get covered in the full hijab, is simply, unislamic. Making fun of them, suddenly becomes right. Believe it or not, agree with me or not, that is a big reality that many might even not consider.
This country has changed beyond return. I look forward to the day when, people rise to the occasion, and make Maldives what it was to the world, not longer than 20 years ago. As for me, I will pursue my future abroad, as Maldives to me right now, is a failure with no potential whatsoever.
The Mist on Wed, 16th Jun 2010 8:45 PM!! You so hate Islam,.. But the fact is its happening in Europe and America where there is less muslims at any time of the day among 100% Christian communities .Even Kids and Women are getting raped every day, may be every second,... so don't blame Islam for because of this article.
Also guys!!! Its sad to say even with the foreign workers and foreign managements here in Maldives, their poor local staffs get harassed.
Don't just write an article if it is not true, and don't just blame Islam, for everything, we know you guys hate Islam...British will get British rights in Britain, not in Maldives, we never get Maldivian rights in Britain, so minivan news have to be more professional, when they write on these kind of issues...
Vicky, both Malaysia and Maldives were once civilised societies. Both are at a crossroads for exactly the same reason. Maldives does not recognise its religious minorities. Malaysia will soon wipe out religious minority communities like yours. You will be forced into a walking tent and be beaten-up regularly by a bearded man who believes that it is his sacred right to do so. It is good to know that you are showing solidarity with Maldivians. Together we can beat this common menace. Vicky, keep smiling as always, and have a great weekend.
dirty
What do you expect of men when they are surrounded by so many rules which exclude temptation.
If people were more open, prob the dodgy part of the male mind would be wiped out.
Same problems around the world. Spaniards whistle to girls and i always tell them "whistle to a dog!", New Zealanders cant take "no" for an answer sometimes, Russians just wait in the dark corners etc.
Women need to be strong. When they feel your strength - they won't approach you. If you walk around with the most naive face, that's when they think it's worth trying.
A few uneducated people like Ali who suggests that these boys who do not behave like the Prophet (pbuh) are somehow real Muslims? They are in fact no better Muslims then the ones blaming Islam reference to this article. Does not matter if they are Maldivians or Arabs or Pakistanis. Anyone uneducated about Islam and does not follow the way of Prophet (pbuh) could not come close to having an Islamic character or a lifestyle.
They are just Muslims by name as those Muslims who are blaming Islam for social ills while not having any in depth knowledge of it to begin with.
They have no knowledge about the Prophet(pbuh) and his life just as the uneducated Muslims who gives negative comments on and on again.
Please read about the life of the Prophet (pbuh) in depth and once you know him well enough, then only you can get to know a the personality of true Muslim well enough. The character of how a Muslim should be - is solely based on the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Not anyone else. Pls research on it and it might do you some good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvdv9lFnInA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZW9Kn-GLxA
If Islam was implemented (as any dumb fool these days knows), these people who harass women would be publicly lashed and disgraced in their own society and in front of their own families. In Islam it does not matter which family or status you have. Once you commit a crime, you will be given a punishment that you will never forget with the will of Allah (swt). Islam is not a part time religion and something which you can pick and choose when to practice it. It is a religion to be taken seriously by those who call themselves Muslims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shdGL-r5uC4
However the uneducated Muslims seems to prefer Secularism which supports Western Human Rights which in turn supports even the criminals who rape women. How is that possible? What type of system gives rights to people who rapes someone? Only a secular system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_K8nZxrAp0
Why are some people blaming the Islamic Ministry.
As if they are supplying these criminals with Viagra!
Try to uphold islamic values in our society for God's sake!
Maldives is starting to learn from the free and secular west!
The pandora's box of secular western values is arriving here slowly but steadily. FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT!
A country with street thugs and hooligans even in the current administration, what else you expect. The head of the government is the biggest hooligan we have see ever in this office for may be centuries. I guess every one in Maldives will agree for this.
Muad MZ... you are 100% correct.
Muaz MZ... I think it is a matter of how you define rape. The following Hadith and Quranic verse make lawful what the rest of us would call rape:
"Sunan Abu Dawud 2150: Abu Sa’id al-Khudri said: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse (4:24): “And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.”
Also see Jami al-Tirmidhi 1132, which says the same thing.