Tag: child abuse

Quran teacher arrested inside room with 13 year old girl

A Quran teacher on Filladhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll has been arrested after he was discovered inside a room with a 13 year old girl.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that the teacher was arrested on Monday night and was in police custody.

A Filladhoo islander told Minivan News that the teacher was a temporary Islam and Quran teacher who had been working at Filladhoo school for two months.

‘’He is 19 years old and the 13 year-old girl was his girlfriend,’’ the islander alleged. “They were inside a room in the girl’s grandmother’s house when the police arrested him.’’

The islander claimed the girl’s parents were aware of their relationship and noted that such things were “quite common on the island.’’

The teacher had been reported to police by some boys on the island who had a grudge against him, the islander claimed.

A total of 198 arrests were made for child abuse cases from the beginning of the year to the end of September 2010.

The crime of child abuse is most common in Male’. More than 16 percent of girls in Male’ under the age of fifteen are sexually abused, four percent higher than the national average.

The national average stands at 12 percent – of every 100 Maldivian girls under the age of fifteen, twelve are sexually abused. Most perpetrators of the crime, according to a 2007 Gender Ministry report on women’s health and well-being, are male family members of the children.

The second most common perpetrators are male acquaintances of the family, neighbours, teachers or religious leaders.

Three men from Filladhoo were arrested recently for allegedly using spy cameras to filming videos young girls showering.

According to the islander, the three men admitted they committed the crime but have since been released by the court.

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Man sentenced for indecently exposing himself to a minor

The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a man to three years in prison after the court found him guilty of the indecent exposure of his body to a minor in Villingili.

The court identified the offender as Mohamed Saeed, 39.

The Criminal court said the brother of the male victim received information of the incident and reported to police that Saeed was attempting to have sex with the boy inside a guest house named ‘Beach View’ in Villingili.

“When police went to the guest house after receiving the information from the victim’s brother, police attended the scene and saw Saeed standing naked near the bed,’’ said the Criminal Court. “The boy was lying on the bed when the police arrived.’’

The Criminal Court said the victim told the court that Saeed went into the toilet and came out naked.

Saeed told the court that he worked in a cargo ship and came to Male’ for his vacation.

The Court sentenced him according to the ‘Act on special actions against sexual abuse to minors’ section 22[a] and 22[b].

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Arrests for child abuse reach nearly 200 this year alone

Close to two hundred arrests have been made by police this year alone on allegations of child abuse.

The latest such arrest was on Wednesday, when a father was charged with sexually abusing his own daughter.

A total of 198 arrests were made for child abuse cases from the beginning of the year to the end of September 2010.

Though the charges are all of crimes against children, the type of abuse varied greatly. Children had been kidnapped, falsely imprisoned, sexually abused, abandoned and assaulted. One had been killed.

The most common among all types of crimes against children is that of sexual abuse. 131 of the 198 arrests made by police this year for crimes against children were for sexual offences.

A Gender Ministry report on women’s health and well-being, an academically rigorous and groundbreaking countrywide survey of Maldivian women produced in 2007, revealed that over 12 percent of Maldivian women between the age of 15 and 49 are sexually abused as a child.

Almost ten percent of women’s first sexual experience is either forced or coerced, the report shows. The younger the woman is, according to the report, the more likely that her first sexual experience is forced on her or that she is coerced into it.

The crime of child abuse is most common in Male’. More than 16 percent of girls in Male’ under the age of fifteen are sexually abused, four percent higher than the national average.

The national average stands at 12 percent – of every 100 Maldivian girls under the age of fifteen, twelve are sexually abused.

For almost two-thirds of these girls, 60 percent, the experience is not a one off, but repetitive and prolonged. Most perpetrators of the crime, according to the report, are male family members of the children.

The second most common perpetrators are male acquaintances of the family, neighbours, teachers or religious leaders.

In August this year, renowned Qary Hussein Thaufeeq, a leader of Friday prayers and a teacher of Qur’an to children on national television, was arrested on multiple charges of child sex abuse. He has since been transferred to house arrest.

24 percent of girls under the age of 15 who were sexually abused were victims of strangers while for eight percent of the girls, the perpetrators were their fathers or stepfathers.

The Gender Ministry report also shows that a quarter of Maldivian women become sexually active between the ages of 15 and 17, before the legal adult age.

Six percent of female Maldivians are under the age of 15 when they have their first sexual experience. For many of them, the experience is forced or coerced.

From comparisons with similar research done by the WHO on 11 other countries, the Gender Ministry report also reveals that only two other countries – Namibia and Peru – have areas with higher rates of child sexual abuse than Male’.

The density of the island’s population, which forces girls into sharing sleeping space with a large number of people, especially older males, is one of the main factors the report identifies as contributing to the frequency of the crime in Male’, the report says.

Girls who are forced to travel to Male’ to study and have to board with relatives, friends and strangers are also identified in the report as being particularly vulnerable.

The fact that the most common type of child sex offender is a male family member may contribute to its high rates in Male’, the report says.

“Perhaps in Male’, where extended families live together, often in crowded conditions, young women and girls are more at risk from their male family members that they live with”, it says.

International research into the impact of child sexual abuse has shown that victims of child sex abuse are likely to become afflicted by a large number of behavioural and psychological problems including negative impact on reproductive health, relationship problems, sexual dysfunction, depression, thoughts of suicide, deliberate self-harm as well as substance abuse and sexual risk taking.

The penalty for child sex abuse, according to the Child Sex Abuse (Special Provisions) Act, is 10-14 years but can be extended to 15-18 years if the accused was in a position of trust with the children he allegedly abused. The new Act is not retroactive, and its sentencing does not apply to child abuse crimes committed before it was implemented.

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Comment: Skeletons in the closet

As darkness fell over the cramped city of Male’ on the eve of January 3 this year, a woman’s body was found in a suitcase dumped in a construction site. She was 30 years old.

A few days later, her boyfriend was charged for her murder.

On June 22, a little boy lost both his parents. His father was stabbed with a knife and died in a hospital. His mother gave herself up to the police for the brutal offense.

At the age of 21, she now sits in a cell, her dreams crushed and her hopes dead. The prospect of spending her long life in prison would torment her. Perhaps a more agonising pain for her is the fear of facing what her son might think of her when he grows up. Her fateful act was the tragic climax in her struggle to leave a disruptive relationship that was a daunting trap for her.

The pain and suffering these two women endured represent the lives of many others in the Maldives. They include women, children, girls and boys, aged parents and also men. They are the victims of domestic violence – a social reality locked up as a family secret and never discussed by lawmakers in the country until Monday.

Rozaina Adam, MP, young and educated, explained what she meant by domestic violence as she presented her bill to the heavily lopsided parliament – with 72 men and only five women as its members.

“Domestic violence is the violence or acts of violence that occur between married couples or between divorced couples or between family members or between members in a household”, she said. “It may be someone inflicting violence on his/her wedded partner, it may be a guardian inflicting violence on a child or someone inflicting violence on his/her elderly parents… like any other society in the world, it’s a reality in our society too.”

Her definition outlined the space where domestic violence occurs. She also brought the relationships between the victims and offenders of these horrendous actions into public focus.

A home is meant to be a safe and happy place for everyone. In Maldives, like many traditional societies, people grow up and spend their entire lives surrounded with family, relatives and neighbors. It is however, a place of indescribable horror for the victims of domestic violence.

The victims live their lives in constant pain and fear, insecurities and uncertainties, distrust and breakups. The gruesome realities they face make them strong enough to bear the pain but often,  too weak to get out of it or end it.

Home is a boundary known to them, no matter how gross it is. Sometimes, leaving home means crossing over to uncertainty and face a greater fear of the unknown. They absorb the worst atrocities in their homes, imposed on them by their supposedly loved ones. In effect they hide their woes silently behind a smile or a deadpan mask, until life is forced out of them or it dies within on them, like it did for these two women.

Research, media reports and official records indicate a staggering level of domestic violence in the Maldives.

A study in 2007 showed, one in every three women aged 15-49 experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.

According to an official source, 620 cases of abuse were reported to them from August 2005 to 2009. They include 200 cases on sexual abuse, 150 cases on physical abuse, 50 cases of rape and 50 cases on neglect and more. The number of cases reported to them on average stands at 145 per year since 2006.

On Sunday evening, the Deputy Minister of Health and Family, Ms Mariya Ali informed that the number of reported cases on domestic violence now stands at 100.

These statistics reveal a shocking truth, considering the clandestine nature of domestic violence, the stark absence of relevant legislation and the lack of necessary support for victims. It confirms the high prevalence of domestic violence in our small Muslim society and the urgent need to address it through law.

Since July this year, the local media has reported 9 incidents of rape including two cases of gang rape in the past week alone. Health officials warn that the incidence of rape could be much higher as rape is far more common among married couples.

Meanwhile, the political and social space in Maldives continues to get filled by a religious narrative that reinforces women as sexual objects. For instance, a question and answer posted on the website of Ministry of Islamic Affairs dominated by a religious pressure group called the Adhalaath Party reads:

“It has become very common for a woman to tell her husband ‘I do not want to sleep with you’, ‘I won’t do as you say’, ‘I will live my life the way I want’. What does Islam say about such women?”

The answer was provided by Sheikh Usman Abdulla – a renowned and respected Islamic scholar.

It says: “the main purpose of being married is to fulfill your sexual needs. In reality, the woman cannot say that. She has to obey her husband. Islam says if your husband wants you, you have to go (to him) even if you are cooking (in the kitchen). While this is how it is (in Islam), what the woman said is not acceptable in Islam.”

The impact of such narrative on women and children should not be under-estimated – especially in view of the general profile of the victims and the offenders. According to the reports on abuse, 9 out of every 10 victims were females and nearly 6 out of every 10 victims were below 18 years. It also revealed 8 out of every 10 offenders is a friend or a family member of the victim. And in 5 out of every 10 cases, the offender is the victim’s boyfriend or husband.

The horrific reality reflected by the records of abuse emphasizes the dire need for legislators to get their act together and treat domestic violence as a nonpartisan issue. It requires unequivocal support for the proposed bill by all parliamentarians. No one desires a repeat of the violent actions that unfurled at the beginning of this year.

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

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President concerned over rising reports of mistreatment of children

President Mohamed Nasheed has expressed “deep concern” over increasing reports of mistreatment of children in the country, including rape and sexual abuse.

Speaking during his weekly radio address, Nasheed said that protecting children was an important part of the government’s role.

He publicly thanked opposition DRP MP Rozaina Adam for her work on the domestic violence bill and its submission to parliament.

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Comment: ‘geveshi aniyaa ge’ bill lifts social taboo on domestic violence

In Mauritania in North Africa, force-feeding young girls is a cultural practice under the socially-held belief that fat women are beautiful, desirable and a valuable asset, increasing the social status of the whole family.

Girls as young as five are forced to eat to gain weight, by means that can only be described as torture. Some die in the process.

In Mauritania, this cultural ‘norm’ is practiced openly and is accepted as the way they do things. In the Maldives too, we have cultural ‘norms’ which are accepted as the way we do things.

Ignoring and hiding physical and sexual abuse of women and children within the family has been the way we had handled this social problem in the past. The issue of violence within the home or domestic violence, has been a taboo subject so hidden that it did not even have a name, until now.

Today, we can actually call it something : geveshi aniyaa.

The Domestic Violence Bill submitted to the Peoples’ Majlis today by MP Rozaina Adam has a Dhivehi name, the Geveshi Aniyaa ge Bill, which formally lifts the final taboo against domestic violence, complete with a reference for everyone to use.

Now we know what it is, in name and deed. Now we can talk about it freely and be heard.

At least we think so.

Addressing social taboos can be difficult in any society, regardless of the human cost. Resistance to addressing domestic violence has been observed for many years in the Maldives.

On March 8 2002, the Minister of Women’s Affairs and Social Security addressed the occasion of the International Women’s Day, where she said :

“If we want to make our environment safe, free and conducive for all individuals, we have to start openly talking about the actions of perpetrators of violence… Issues of violence must be viewed as societal concerns rather than a private issue, and it must be seen as the responsibility of all to work towards eliminating violence from our society.”

Then, of course, we did not have a word for the issue. Nor were we ‘all’ prepared to take responsibility for it.
It was the way we did things.

But much has happened since then.

Supported by various UN agencies in the Maldives, the issue of domestic violence kept being looked into by those who were concerned about the issue.

Several studies were conducted and some of the findings were so disturbing that these were never made public. How can people ill-prepared to talk about something, face up to the reality of it?

However, several dedicated people kept chipping at the thick wall of the social taboo of domestic violence and we can say that today, the wall has finally fallen, thanks to all those who persevered.

In 2007, a major piece of research was conducted by the then Ministry of Gender and Family, entitled The Maldives Study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences.

This study revealed that one in three women between the age of 15-49 had experienced physical and/or sexual violence, including childhood sexual abuse at some point in their lives. The study also revealed that one in five women in the same age group, had reported experiencing violence from an intimate partner. These findings showed the extent of the problem of violence within Maldivian homes.

The representatives of the Maldivian people in the People’s Majlis today referred to the Geveshi Aniyaa ge Bill, and repeatedly reminded those listening that geveshi aniyaa exists in the Maldives, that it must not stay hidden, that it is a problem that has to be addressed through the law.

This historic bill is the first of its kind in the country. It brings a ray of hope of justice to the many women and families affected by domestic violence in this country.

When it comes to domestic violence, the way we do things has to change. It is no longer acceptable to hide this social ill.

Today’s bill promises to be the first step to protecting and providing justice for a large number of Maldivian women and children.

Today the representatives of the Maldivian people will vote to accept this bill to the Majlis and send it for approval by a special committee. As we watch the process unfold, we must not forget that the people who will most benefit from this bill are those least able to fight for the protection and justice this bill can potentially provide them.

For this reason, every voting member of the Majlis has a responsibility to support this important piece of legislation to secure justice that a large number of women and children of this country have long awaited.

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

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18 year-old sentenced to one year’s prison for entering room of under-age girl

The Criminal Court has sentenced an 18 year-old boy for entering the room of a 13 year-old girl with the intention of having sex with her, reports SunFM.

The radio station reported that the 18 year-old man was charged for “staying in isolation” with an under-aged girl, with the intention of having sex with her.

The accused denied the charges in court and claimed that it was a set-up by the girl’s mother.

According to SunFM, the boy claimed the girl’s mother phoned him through the girl’s phone, and invited him to come over before reporting him to police.

However, the Criminal Court declared that although the 18 year-old claimed he entered the girl’s room with her consent, she was not of an age that could give consent to do such an activity.

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Same lawyer acting as defence and prosecution in Qary Thaufeeg child molestation case

Police have complained that the defence lawyer of Al-Qary Hussain Thaufeeq, a renowned reciter of the Quran who was recently arrested on multiple charges of child sex abuse,  also served as the prosecution lawyer for one of Thaufeeq’s alleged victims.

Thaufeeq formerly hosted a daily Quran teaching programme on Television Maldives (TVM) for school children every evening after Isha prayers. Prior to his arrest, he also led Friday prayers and conducted sermons.

A police media official said that police would not disclose details regarding the case, but said the lawyer Abdulla Shiyaz had appeared as both Thaufeeq’s defence and as prosecution for one of the girls he allegedly molested.

Legal Officer of the Criminal Court, Mohamed Amir, said the police concerns had been presented to the Criminal Court.

“There were two defence lawyers for Thaufeeq, Abdulla Shiyaz and Ali Shah,” he said. “Police have claimed Abdulla Shiyaz appeared in court as the prosecution lawyer for an alleged victim of the accused. When the investigation is ongoing, the victim has the right to present her own lawyer if she wishes so.’’

Amir said the police investigation team have claimed that the issue could obstruct the police investigation and influence the witnesses.

‘’It is against the code of ethics of lawyers to appear as both prosecution and defence lawyer at the same case,’’ Amir noted.

However Abdulla Shiyaz told local news paper Haveeru that he denied the charges and claimed it was an attempt by police to denigrate his reputation.

He said that when he appeared in court on the victim’s side, he did not know that it was a case related to Thaufeeq.

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Renowned Quran reciter arrested for molesting children

Renowned Qary (Quran reciter) Hussein Thaufeeq, widely considered to be one of the best Quran readers in the Maldives, has been arrested on multiple charges of child sex abuse.

Thaufeeq hosts a daily Quran teaching programme on Television Maldives (TVM) for school children every evening after Isha prayers. He also leads Friday prayers and conducts sermons.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed Thaufeeq was in police custody after being arrested in connection with “many” child sex offences against girls, “some cases going back a long time.”

‘’The case is under investigation and further information cannot be provided at this stage,’’ said Shiyam.

Police arrested Thaufeeq last week and presented him to the Criminal Court requesting for an extension of his detention. The Court granted an extension of custody to 15 days.

State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed declined to comment on the issue, “as the case is still under investigation.’’

President of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Hussein Rasheed said that the party was “very concerned” over the issue, “not because a certain person may have done it, but because lately these sorts of crimes are increasing in number day by day,’’ Hussein said.

‘’I would not like to say anything regarding this [specific] case, because it hasn’t been decreed by a court of law and until then it is just an accusation.”

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