Tag: councils

Amendments to religious unity law brings mosques under Islamic Ministry, outlaws independent congregations

A first amendment to the Protection of Religious Unity Act of 1994 bringing mosques under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and outlawing independent prayer congregations was ratified by President Abdulla Yameen yesterday.

The amendments (Dhivehi) – passed with 33 votes in favour and 10 abstentions at the sitting of parliament on March 31 –  brings all mosques and prayer houses in inhabited islands back under the purview of the Islamic Ministry.

Responsibility for the maintenance and management of mosques was transferred from the Islamic Ministry to local councils by the landmark Decentralisation Act of 2010.

In April 2012, Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed called for mosques to be returned to the ministry’s care following the refusal of some island councils to allow scholars to preach in mosques, most recently in the island of Innamaadhoo in Raa atoll.

The Innamadhoo island council filed a complaint with the Islamic Ministry last month against Sheikh Ibrahim Shameem Adam after the NGO Salaf preacher allegedly delivered a sermon in the island’s mosque without permission from the council.

Shameem was also prevented from delivering a sermon by the Omadhoo island council in December last year on the grounds that it might “disrupt the stability and social harmony of the island”.

In May 2013, Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Sheikh Ilyas Hussein – senior members of the religious conservative Adhaalath Party – were obstructed from preaching in Vaikaradhoo, in Haa Dhaalu atoll, whilst the Kamadhoo island council in Baa atoll prevented Sheikh Nasrulla Ali from preaching in the island’s mosque.

In Vaikaradhoo, the Adhaalath sheikhs were provided police protection in the face of unruly opposition protesters.

“Broadening the role of mosques” was among the eleven key policy objectives unveiled by the Islamic ministry in February.

Other provisions

The amendments ratified today also prohibit “sowing religious discord” in the community and outlaws independent or unauthorised prayer congregations.

Friday prayers must be conducted in mosques designated by the Islamic ministry while the Friday sermon must be delivered at a time determined by the ministry.

Religious sermons delivered at mosques must meanwhile adhere to rules set by the government.

In February this year, the Malé City Council shut down the Dharumavantha mosque at the request of the Islamic Ministry to stop unauthorised Friday prayers by a group described as “extremist” by Islamic Minister Shaheem.

Among other offences specified in the amendments were the construction of places of worship for other religions, the sale, possession, or advertisement of expressions or slogans of other religions and the importation, display, advertisement and sale of books of other religions.

Moreover, seeking financial assistance from foreigners to propagate other religions is prohibited while permission must be sought in writing from the Islamic Ministry before accepting a salary, funds, or a gift from a foreign party for conducting religious activities in the country.

Similar provisions were included in the religious unity regulations enforced in September 2011 to crack down on extremist and unlicensed preaching of Islam in the country.

The penalty for violations of either the law or the regulations is a jail sentence of between two to five years.

The new amendments also stipulate that permission must be sought in writing from the Islamic Ministry for preaching or delivering sermons, offering religious advice or publishing books concerning religion.

Other amendments brought to the religious unity law include a provision requiring Islam to be taught as a compulsory subject in all public and private schools from grade one to 12.

Additionally, the Education Ministry and other relevant state institutions must revise the Islamic curriculum to “instil love of religion among students” and discourage involvement in sectarian disputes.

Islam teachers will also be required to possess qualifications from Islamic universities or centres accepted by the Maldives Qualification Authority while expatriate teachers must belong to the Sunni sect.

In February, the government introduced Arabic language as an optional subject for grades one through 12.

The new amendments will come into force three months after ratification.

The amendment bill was submitted in June 2010 by the late Dr Afrasheem Ali, a moderate religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives MP who was was brutally murdered in October 2012.

The legislation was first put to a vote in October 2012 following review by parliament’s social affairs committee. The bill was however rejected and returned to committee after only 16 MPs out of 66 in attendance voted in favour.

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President Waheed obstructing decentralisation, failing to deliver pledged concessions: LGA

Local Government Authority (LGA) Vice President Sujau Hussain has claimed that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s government has failed to extend any of the concessions previously pledged and is obstructing decentralisation, reports local media.

Waheed promised atoll and city councils 50 percent of the leases from atoll stores as well as 50 percent of the leases given under ‘varuvaa’ (islands given to individuals for caretaking) to increase the income of councils.

“While Waheed claims he wants to implement decentralisation, the only thing he does is to further obstruct those activities which the councils are already in a position to carry out,” Hussain said during a conference held to mark two years of decentralisation.

Waheed noted in February that the government had used a “major amount of income from the public accounts”, so he would arrange for next year’s government budget to address the issue and recover the funds, according to local media.

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Domestic Violence Act “incomplete” without Family Protection Authority

Members will be next week appointed to the primary body tasked  with implementing the Domestic Violence (DV) Act, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik said on Wednesday.

According to Dr Waheed names have been nominated by the Gender Ministry to the Family Protection Authority (FPA) board.

“I have been informed that the Gender Ministry has prepared the proposal. So the members will be appointed without further delay,” Waheed said:”Next week”.

Under the landmark piece of legislation passed and ratified last April, a seven member board has to be appointed to the FPA.

The authority is mandated under the law to conduct programs setting out measures for taking all necessary steps to prevent domestic violence including rehabilitating perpetrators of such crimes, arrange flexible reporting mechanisms, facilitate the investigations and provide all necessary support and shelter to victims of abuse.

According to the Gender Advocacy Working Group (GAWG) created by UNFPA Maldives,  a letter was forwarded to the President’s Office with recommended people to be appointed for the FPA board.

“It is important to nominate people who have strong expertise on the issue from different sectors.” Michiyo Yamada, Gender Specialist at UN Women Maldives noted.

“We urge the government to establish the Family Protection Authority as soon as possible, since they are mandated to lead the implementation of the DV Act, such as creating public awareness, providing services to survivors, coordinating the work of relevant institutions including police and health.” she observed.

She also noted that GAWG will support and cooperate with all institutions to implement the legislation. The multi-sectoral group represents interested organisations and individuals, promoting gender equality and non-discrimination.

“Extensive ground work is needed to implement the act by training service providers and setting up the system to prevent and respond to domestic violence across the country,” Michiyo added.

Recommended names were not released by the group as it is being reviewed by the government.

A Gender Ministry official confirmed to Minivan News that GAWG’s nominations were taken under consideration while shortlisting the names for President’s office.

Stakeholder’s concerns

All stakeholders from government, civil society, judiciary and state institutions gathered at the Tuesday’s national consultation workshop on UN Secretary General’s Unite Campaign to end violence against women, and “agreed” on the urgency of forming a central authority to prevent domestic abuse and overcoming the existing challenges in providing protection and justice to those victims.

According to Human Rights Lawyer Mohamed Anil, who participated in the DV Act’s drafting process, the “legislation is incomplete without the authority”.

“It is already created from the date of ratification. On paper it exists now. But without the members authority is nonexistent, ” Anil observed.

He added that the when the legislation fully comes into operation it will bring “significant new changes”, one of which he pointed out is the additional power granted to the security forces to investigate abuse and violence within domestic spheres.

Should the police find reasonable evidence to believe  a person is a victim of domestic abuse, the DV legislation stipulates the police can enter the place of crime without a court order and arrest perpetrators and even request for a protective order on behalf of the victim.

Due to these “extra-powers” Anil said, police are required to compile an internal regulation outlining the guidelines in dealing with domestic abuse cases.

Should the authorities fail to report or address a case of domestic abuse, they can be held accountable under the law.

The law also mandates the police to remove the victim from the abusive environment to a shelter, if necessary on the institution’s own expenses.

In the most recent case of alleged infanticide on Feydhoo island, the council and islanders have been claiming in the local media that the authorities had failed to relocate the 15 year-old mother of the dead baby despite several complaints of sexual abuse within her home.

Stakeholders at the meeting highlighted that the Family and Children Center (FCC) shelters on the islands are under-equipped and too short staffed to accommodate and help victims, while budget constraint are further hampering the process.

“Look at the condition of FCC on islands. We once had to keep a sexually abused girl at the atoll state house because the shelter did not have any facilities and there was no other safe place to keep her,” Shaviyani atoll Council President Moosa Fathy noted at the workshop.

“Everyone talks about these issues on stages. It is merely a political fashion show.” he added, noting that there has been several cases where police and state institutions have denied support to the councils.

Therefore, at the end of the workshop, participants promised to make a coordinated effort to end violence against women and girls and promote gender equality.

“We need more commitment and concrete action.” a participant noted.

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New councilors to take oath of office on Saturday

Councilors who have won seats on newly formed island and atoll councils are scheduled to take their oath of office on the morning of Saturday February 26, the Home Ministry has announced.

The ministry said that the oath-taking ceremonies will be held in all areas where the Elections Commission have announced the official results.

”The Island Councils will hold the ceremony in their respective islands and atolls, and councilors will take the oath in the capital island of each respective atoll,” said the Home Ministry.

Councilors of Male’ City will take the oath in Male’ and Addu City councilors will take the oath in Hithadhu, the Home Ministry added.

The Ceremony will commence at 9:00am in the morning and the Home Ministry has invited citizens to attend Saturday’s ceremonies “in the spirit of national unity.”

Meanwhile, the elections commission has announced the official results of almost all divisions except for the Council of Kela in Haa Alifu Atoll and other division where candidates got equal votes.

Following the election on February 5, the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) won a clear seat majority while the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won control of the major population centres. The MDP calculated that the popular vote was 44 percent – 40 percent in its favour, but the EC has not confirmed this figure. Full breakdowns of the available results are available on the Elections Commission website.

Kela results were delayed according a High Court order after complaints were filed regarding the elections procedures.

Candidates uneducated

Islanders in at least one division have expressed concern that most of the elected councilors were not capable of handling such positions of responsibility.

One islander from the central region of the Maldives told Minivan News that on his island, only two of the five elected councilors have finished their GCE O’Levels.

”Because they ran as candidates for the seats under different parties, supporters of those parties have voted for them for the sake of promoting their party,” he said. ”Votes were not made with consideration for how educated the candidate is, or how capable the person, just by what political party he belongs to.”

He noted that the councilors will therefore follow the orders of their parties regardless of whether they were beneficial or harmful to their own island.

”For instance, if a foreign party were interested in developing our island, there is no way some councils could deal with it because they don’t even understand English very well,” he said. ”It would be the islanders who will have to suffer, I don’t think people really considered [candidates’] educational background or their capability.”

Recently Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told Minivan News many successful candidates in the local council election remained unaware of their new responsibilities, or even of the mandate of a local council.

“It is a fact that candidates from many parties including ours may not be clear on their responsibilities and mandates,” he told Minivan News.

All the councilors will take over the the administration of their respective island and atoll offices following the oath Saturday.

The new structure of island and atoll councils is meanwhile expected to cost the Maldivian state an extra Rf 173 million (US$13.5 million) a year, a figure that has raised concerns among international financial donors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The President of every island council will receive a salary and allowance of Rf 15,000 (US$1160), council members Rf 11,000 (US$850). The mayor of Male’ will receive Rf 45,000 (US$3500).

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