Tag: family court

High Court issues injunction against Family Court order to return child to mother

The High Court has released a temporary injunction halting the implementation of a Family Court order asking a man to hand over his five month old baby to its Swiss mother.

The man has been identified by the police as Ahmed Sharuvan,  age 32, from Kanmatheege in Maradhoo in Seenu atoll. The information had been released when police launched a nationwide search for the man after he failed to comply with a Family Court order last week.

The superior court released the injunction after Sharuvan submitted an appeal in the court against the Family Court’s verdict.

The High Court injunction – signed by three judges – stated that the court believes it important to halt the Family Court order until after Sharuvan’s appeal has been completed.

Although the case’s first hearing was scheduled by the High Court for Sunday, it was later cancelled.

Sharuvan’s wife – identified in local media with only a first name, Tanya – also attended Sunday’s court hearing.

Sharuvan attended Sunday’s hearing at the scheduled time and was accompanied by a lawyer. Police began questioning him outside the court premises, with Sharuvan responding by showing the police the High Court’s temporary injunction.

In spite of this, police took Sharuvan to the police headquarters for further “discussions”.

“We did not have the jurisdiction to arrest him then due to the High Court injunction although we were previously looking for him,” a police media official told Minivan News today.

“So we requested him to come along with us to headquarters for further discussions and he obliged. We did not have the jurisdiction to directly question him, so we just held a discussion. He left the police premises directly after the discussion.”

Owing to the High Court injunction, police revealed that the baby remains in the custody of the father. They stated that the police cannot take any action on the matter until Sharuvan’s appeal case at the High Court reaches completion.

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Police searching for man who refuses to hand over 5 month old baby

Police have launched a search for a man accused of refusing to hand over his five month old baby to the mother.

Police stated that they are looking for the man after he failed to follow a court order on March 10 which asked him to hand over the child within a period of 24 hours.

In accordance with a Family Court order, the police are looking for Ahmed Sharuvan of age 32 years from Kanmatheege in Seenu Atoll Maradhoo.

Police have appealed to the public to report any information held about Sharuvan to the police at the earliest.

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Maldives holds Guinness world record for divorce rate

Fathimath Leena* was 15 when her boyfriend raped her. Having grown up in the conservative city of Malé – where sex outside of marriage is seen as a sin and punishable by law – Leena felt obliged to marry her boyfriend when she turned 18.

“I held very conservative values at the time. Since we had already had sex, I felt like I had to marry him to legalise sex,” the slim, curly haired woman said over a cigarette and coffee.

The marriage lasted one month.

“He would frequently lock me up in our room. I was not allowed to see or speak to my family. He beat me every day. Once, he even burnt me with an iron. He had always been possessive, but I did not expect that kind of violence,” she said in a matter of fact tone.

“I did not have the courage to tell my parents. They were quite happy I had settled down. But one day, he started beating me in public in a shop. I ran out, he followed me into his parents apartment and in a fit of anger he told me I was now divorced,” she recounted.

Since then, Leena, now 29, has been married and divorced twice more and has a child from her third marriage.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Maldives ranks highest in the world with 10.97 divorces per 1000 inhabitants per year. Maldives’ divorce rate is twice as high as second placed Belarus.

“Maldives may rank highest in the world for divorces, but at least the ease in getting a divorce ensures women or men do not stay in abusive or unhappy relationships,” Leena said.

Ease of divorce

Obtaining a divorce is relatively easy under the Maldives’ mixed Shari’ah and common law system. A man is allowed to divorce his wife out of court simply by saying he was divorcing her. He is also allowed to revoke the divorce within three months.

A woman can only seek divorce through the courts, and if the judge decides the grounds for divorce are justified.

According to the Department of National Planning, 5,699 couples got married in 2012, but 3,011 couples got divorced in the same year.

The Family Court in Malé says it processed 784 cases of divorce in 2013. Of the 784, 360 were out-of-court divorces, and 262 cases were women seeking divorce through the court.

According to a family court official, who wished to remain anonymous, the court has imposed a MVR 5000 (US$ 324) fine to mitigate the high divorce rate and ensure couples seek reconciliation before obtaining a divorce. However, in 2013, only 14 couples sought reconciliation.

The family court is at present conducting an analysis of reasons for divorce, the official said.

Legal sex

Leena believes most couples get married  young in order to legalise sex. According to a 2011 UNFPA study on reproductive health, knowledge and behavior of young unmarried women in the Maldives, Maldivian youth are sexually active outside of marriage despite existing social belief systems, which consider sexual behavior outside of wedlock to be unacceptable.

“Parents and society frowns upon unmarried couples spending time together alone and press for marriage even though the couples may not be financially independent,” she said.

Leena said she had married her second and third husband for love. However, living in congested households with extended families had strained both marriages.

“People get married without financial independence and when they are not emotionally mature. There is no privacy to solve the smallest issues. So they escalate. Also, most couples live with their children in the same room and this can strain marriages,” she added.

A 2008 Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) study said 12,000 families living in Malé do not have their own housing and are forced to share accommodation with other families.

Historically high divorce rate

State Minister for Gender and Family Dr Haala Hameed said a lack of research on Maldives’ high divorce rate made it difficult to pinpoint exact reasons for divorce.

She said that Maldives had historically had high divorce rates, but believes recent increase in divorce rates may be due to stress within families as women enter the work force.

“In this globalised era, more and more women are entering the work force. High standards of living necessitate women supplement their husband’s income. However, there are no childcare facilities. And certain religious elements see women in the workforce – or active in public space – in a negative light. All of this can create stress within families and lead to divorce,” she speculated.

A myriad of problems emerge when divorce becomes common, she said. “Children tend to bear a huge loss when parents separate. Children from broken families are often neglected. They then tend to become school drop outs, engage in drug abuse or resort to violence,” she said.

Meanwhile, Leena said she had no regrets over her three marriages.

“It’s life. What can we do but live and learn from it? I have no regrets. Relationships do not last forever. When the time comes, I am ready to settle down again.”

*Name changed

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Supreme Court on recess until December 15

The Supreme Court, the Civil Court, the Criminal Court and the Family Court have begun a recess period today.

The Supreme Court and Criminal Court will restart trials on December 15, while the Civil Court will restart on December 10. The Family Court will be on recess until December 30.

Even though the superior courts are on recess, trials may be scheduled and rulings issued if necessary. The courts will continue to be open for administrative purposes.

The High Court has said it will not go on recess this December as local council elections are scheduled for January 18.

According to Article 172 of the constitution, individuals may contest any decision of the Election Commission relating to elections at the High Court.

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Finance Minister rejects Family Court’s claim that government is holding child support money

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad has rejected a statement from the Family Court alleging the ministry is delaying the release of child support money needed by single parents.

The money is paid to the court, which acts as an intermediary between separated parents. Jihad claimed the ministry has now begun to release the payments.

However, Family Court Registrar Ahmed Shafeeu told local media the court has been receiving complaints over delays in receiving the child support payments.

According to Shafeeu, once a parent submits child support money to the court the money is deposited in the state income account. The Finance Ministry is then supposed to return the money to the court, which issues it to the intended recipient.

Shafeeu states that this is under the order of the Finance Ministry, as defined in the Public Finance Act.

“However, I do not believe at all that there is any reason why this money has to be deposited in the state income account,” Shafeeu stated.

“Lots of people who deposit the money, and who are waiting to receive the money, continue to submit complaints about the delay repeatedly,” he said.

He further stated that no solution has been found to date, although discussions on the matter were held with the Finance Ministry three weeks ago.

Currently in cases of divorce among parents, if the mother applies for child support the father is required to provide a monthly contribution of MVR 1000 (US$65) per child.

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Abandoned child legally assigned foster parents for first time in Maldivian history

The Family Court has assigned foster parents to a 10-month-old baby for the first time in Maldivian history. The child, who had been abandoned, was transferred from state care to a married couple on Sunday, September 18.

“This is the first time that non-biological parents have been given legal guardianship of a child in the Maldives,” said Ilham Mohamed, a local NGO worker familiar with the matter.

Mohamed said that foster parents previously risked the biological parents turning up to demand money and/or the child. “This example will make the process more secure,” she said.

The new foster parents will have the same legal rights given in adoption, except for the rights to consent to marriage and leave an inheritance.

Mohamed pointed out that in many cases where a father will not consent to his daughter’s marriage, the young couple requests and often receives court permission. She said the process usually takes between two and three months.

The couple’s lawyer, former Attorney General (AG) Aishath Azima Shakoor, told local media that the couple wanted to opt for their new daughter to inherit an equal share of their property. According to Mohamed, Maldivian law allows foster parents this option.

Shakoor recently told local media that the court had transferred the state’s legal guardianship of the child under Shari’a law to the couple, who have agreed in writing to protect and provide for the girl.

The Maldives did not provide services for abandoned children before the 1990s. Sources say that the number of abandoned children rose during that decade, possibly due to the allegedly higher rate of drug use among young adults at that time.

In 1992, the Ministry of Gender and Family established the Unit for the Rights of the Child (URC), now known as the Child and Family Protection Services (CFPS). Since then, the ministry maintains that the number of care-giving staff and institutions are unable to meet demand.

An Auditor General’s report dated 2009 reported 43 children at the state’s orphanage on Villingili, near Male. The report noted that the orphanage was understaffed and staff members were unable to provide sufficient care for children below the age of five. Most employees were not trained in child psychology, and there were no provisions for medical emergencies.

The orphanage on Male is currently over capacity and children are not segregated by age, said Mohamed.

Minivan News previously reported that Maldivian Family Law requires various next-of-kin be asked to care for abandoned children before the state assumes responsibility. But the process of identifying proper care-givers was reported long and difficult, and the Ministry of Family and Gender was regularly backed up with applications at the time.

The report also noted that adoption, as it is handled in the West, is illegal in Islam.

“Adoption in the Western style is not part of Islam,” explained Mohamed. “But fostering, or taking people into your care, is part of Islamic culture. It doesn’t really matter what name you use, foster or adopt, just so long as children have a safe place to live.”

Mohamed said she believes most orphanages have wait lists, and expects foster parenting to increase significantly.

“The couple that has been approved struggled to convince local authorities of their case. But now that this has been done once, it won’t be difficult for people to do it again.”

Mohamed noted that the struggle to legalize foster parenting began in the late 1990s, and calls the recent case a “very significant event.”

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Family Court seeks marriage registrars – women need not apply

The Family Court is looking for twenty marriage registrars. The conditions are that they be graduate followers of Sunni Islam, in possession of a sound mind, lacking a criminal record and, male.

Article 142 of the Constitution states that judges should consider Islamic Shari’ah when deciding on matters on which the Constitution or the law is silent.

On the issue of discrimination, the Constitution is clear. Article 17 prohibits discrimination against anyone on the basis of their gender while Article 20 states that ‘every individual is equal before and under the law’.

Hassan Saeed, Chief Judge of the Family Court, and his deputy, Hassan Shafeeu were both unavailable for comment throughout the day.

Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Shaheem, an expert on Shar’iah, told Minivan that he would need more time to study the issue before commenting.

Shaheem also stated that he was unaware of a woman having been appointed as a registrar of Muslim marriages in any Islamic country.

The first Muslim female marriage registrar (maazouna) in the Islamic world was appointed in Egypt in October 2008, where the Constitution also enshrines the equality of men and women.

The then 34-year-old Master’s graduate in law, Amal Suleiman Afifi, was the first female marriage registrar in the Middle East, and as suggested by Egyptian press at the time, possibly the first in the Islamic world.

Despite the qualifications of Afifi, whose educational background was far superior to all other applicants, her appointment as a registrar was a contentious issue.

After a long legal battle and a religious edict (fatwa) from Egypt’s Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, one of the world’s most recognised Islamic scholars, the issue was finally resolved in Afifi’s favour.

Gomaa’s fatwa declared there are no restrictions in Islam on women to act as marriage registrars.

Speaking to Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram Weekly, Gomaa said that in Islam a marriage registrar is a mere administrator, whose role was developed by the state to manage records and guarantee the legitimate rights of the parties concerned.

The maazoun, as he explained, has nothing to do with the pillars of the Islamic marriage. Therefore a woman’s signature on the contract does not violate Sharia.

Most of the objections to the appointment of a woman to the job of a marriage registrar were centred around the fact that in Islam, not one woman but two are required for the role of one witness.

Grand Mufti Gomaa’s ruling was that in executing the role of a marriage registrar, Afifi should not be considered a witness, but rather an official. As such, her signature on the contract does not in any way contravene the rules of Islam.

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Unregistered marriages leave children unable to inherit, warns Family Court

The Family Court has claimed that unregistered marriages occurring in the Maldives are denying children the legal rights of those born to ‘registered’ couples.

According to Maldivian law, children born out of wedlock can face difficultly obtaining legal recognition for matters such as claiming their inheritance.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Didi confirmed that children born to couples who exchange vows in unsanctioned private marriages do not have the same legal rights as children born to those who marry legally.

“It’s a serious problem,” Didi said, explaining that such children can experience problems claiming inheritance and tracing their family.

“The children cannot find their family line or claim their property,” he said.

There were “certain religious people” giving false information to others in small communities, he said, who were instructing their followers to marry “according to Islam and not Maldivian law.”

Didi noted that although these marriages could technically be recognised by Islam, “the country’s law says we have to register a marriage.”

He said the ministry is running “awareness programmes giving proper information to people,” as well as providing education through the media, information sessions at the ministry and during Friday sermons.

Didi said the ministry “has not found clues” as to why certain religious scholars are marrying people outside the law, but he thinks the only reason is “they want to have a bigger group of followers.”

The Family Court confirmed it was dealing with some cases involving private marriages, and said if the marriage was not registered at the court, it was not technically legal.

Couples receive a certificate through the court which proves they are married, she explained.

Children born to couples who are not registered will not appear under the father’s name and “will not have legal rights”, the court registrar noted.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the problem was all down to the “concubine business.”

According to legal procedures concerning polygamy, for a man to marry more than one woman, the first wife must give her consent for her husband to marry someone else. In this event, his finances and ‘level of commitment’ will be examined by the court.

Zuhair said some men who did not pass the requirements were getting married outside the law.

“The problem is that divorce is then also not legal, and children are unable to claim their inheritance,” he said, noting that although the marriage could be recognised under Islam, it was not recognised under Maldivian law.

Zuhair noted the greater issue behind these ‘private marriages’ was the discussion by Islamic scholars over whether State laws should stand alone from Shari’a, although “of course State law is influenced by Shari’a law.”

“The Constitution gives power to the State,” he said, “but certain Islamic scholars believe this shouldn’t be the case.”

A source who wished to remain anonymous from an island “well known for these type of illegal marriages” told Minivan News that “there is a group of people who believe the Constitution of the Maldives should not be followed because it is not based on Shari’a law.”

He said these people claimed that judges at the courts were “apostates” and that marriage under a Maldivian court could not be recognised under the tenets of Islam.

He said people who do not follow this group “would also be considered apostates.”

He said many people involved with this group were also not sending their children to school because they would have to sing the school song “as they believe singing is haraam, and also claim the school uniform is not very ‘Muslim’.”

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