Tag: minivan news

Reported increase in practice of female circumcision raises alarm

Claims that female circumcision is rising in practice in the Maldives have triggered alarm across the government and NGO sector.

“We are beginning to hear reports of this occurring, and I have heard on radio and television people justifying the practice. It is quite disheartening,” said Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, speaking at a UN event last week.

Then-Attorney General Husnu Suood raised concern in December 2009 that female circumcision in the name of Islam had been revived in Addu Atoll, claiming that religious scholars “are going around to midwives giving fatwas that girls have to be circumcised. They’re giving fatwas saying it is religiously compulsory. According to my information, the circumcising of girls has started and is going on with a new spirit.”

Minivan News subsequently traveled to Addu to investigate the matter and meet with sources, but was unable to determine if the practice was indeed occurring.

Speaking last week, Dr Waheed did not pinpoint a specific area where female circumcision was taking place, but attributed the “general trend” to “rising conservatism and traditional values imported from other parts of the world.”

“Mostly this is a failure of education – there are not enough opportunities for higher education and many students receive free offers to go to madrassas in places like Pakistan, where they learn very traditional values,” Dr Waheed said.

A source from the Health Ministry’s Department of Gender and Family Protection told Minivan News that while female circumcision was widely known to have occurred in the Maldives, it stopped in the 80s and 90s but “now we are hearing media reports that it is happening again.”

The Ministry was not aware where the practice was occurring, but said it intended to investigate.

“There is no formal reporting happening in the islands,” she said. “We have been trying to get reports but health facilities are not aware of the situation.”

Deputy Health Minister Fathimath Afiya meanwhile confirmed that the Ministry was sufficiently concerned to launch a study seeking to identify where female circumcision was occuring.

“There are no reports but NGOs have been talking about it,” she said, stating the Ministry had held a series of meetings on the subject after it received a letter voicing concern from NGO ‘Hope for Women’.

Interim President of that NGO, former Gender Minister Aneesa Ahmed, confirmed to Minivan News today that “some Islamic organisations are advocating this and people are having girls circumcised. I don’t know where and when, but I have heard people say on various programs including Raajje radio.

“I heard two Islamic scholars speaking, and this woman called the radio station and asked two Islamic scholars on the program what Islam said about [female circumcision], and the scholar said yes, that the Prophet Mohamed advocated that girls be circumcised. My concern is that scholars are advocating this has to be done according to Islam, people will not question it and start circumcising girls.”

Aneesa said a representative from the NGO had met with State Minister for Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, who said there was “no question about it: that girls had to be circumcised.”

When Minivan News spoke to Sheikh Rasheed today, he said he did not wish to comment on the matter as he had a meeting scheduled with the Health Ministry regarding the issue.

”If I say anything people might assume it was said on behalf of the Islamic Ministry, or that it was the ruling of the Ministry, so I will not say anything for the time being,” he said.

According to Aneesa, the concern was not whether female circumcision was indeed Islamic.
“I am not a scholar, I am not arguing whether it is right under Islam. If that is the case, we should not stop talking about it. We must undo conventions to which the Maldives is party.
“I don’t want girls to go through the negative complications such as infections and bleeding. I am not questioning whether it is Islamic, but if it is, then people need to be properly trained to do it. Some people are asking if boys are circumcised, why not girls? I am not questioning Islam, my concern is the negative [health] impact.”

According to information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), female genital mutilation is divided into four types: “clitoridectomy, the partial or total removal of the clitoris; excision, partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora; infibulation, the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal by cutting and repositioning the inner or outer labia, with or without removal of the clitoris; and all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes.”

Dr Akjemal Magtymova of the WHO’s Maldives country office told Minivan News that from her limited research into the practice in the Maldives, “it looks like this is not a very intrusive form practiced here. It is more just a following of tradition, a show to a higher power that something has been done about it and the responsibility has been fulfilled.”

Unlike male circumcision there was, she said, “no health benefit to female circumcision.”

“There are risks including infection, infertility, and complications during pregnancy and birth when the wounds are not healed or where there is scar tissue,” she explained.

According to the WHO, girls undergoing the procedure also risk cysts and recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, as well as more immediate complications including severe pain, shock, haemorrhage, tetanus or sepsis, urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue.
It was, observed Dr Akjemal, an ethical dilemma around whether to train doctors to perform the operation safely.

“I am not sure about it – if you train doctors to perform the operation, you open it up to business and supply-induced demand. Rather than a practice isolated to traditional healers, it becomes a lucrative business,” she suggested.

Female genital mutilation is widely practiced in Africa with an estimated three million girls undergoing the proceedure each year, the WHO reports. Across Asia only Indonesia reports the practice although it is also believed to be performed in Malaysia.

In 1997, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a joint statement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) against the practice, and in February 2008 received wider UN support to increase advocacy against it.

“Female genital mutilation is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women,” the WHO advises. “It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.”

Former State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, now the Dean of Villa College’s Faculty of Islamic Sharia, said he had studied the issue and determined that there was no valid hadith demanding females be circumcised.

”All scholars who say it is something that Muslim females should do are citing invalid hadiths,” Sheikh Shaheem said, calling for the practice to be stopped.

”Currently it is uncommon in the Maldives. When I was young I used to hear that it was something done, but now it is very uncommon and I think it was carried to this generation more as a cultural thing,” he said.

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Sri Lanka will host CHOGM 2013 in spite of war crime allegations

Commonwealth Heads of Government have decided not to reassess Sri Lanka’s suitability to host the 2013 meeting (CHOGM), in spite of current international allegations of human rights violations during its civil war.

“This decision runs contrary to the association’s fundamental values of human rights and democracy, and has pushed the Commonwealth to the lowest point in its history,” read a press release.

In 2009, the Commonwealth deferred Sri Lanka’s request to host CHOGM for two years starting in 2011.

As meeting host, Sri Lanka will automatically become chair of the association.

A press release from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative said the decision indicated “that [the Commonwealth] is no longer capable of landmark human rights stances, as demonstrated by its historic activism against Apartheid.”

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Sri Lankan prostitution ring busted in Male’

A prostitution ring that has trafficked Sri Lankan girls to Maldivian resorts via Male’ for the past six years has been busted by Sri Lankan police, and is now being investigated by local authorities.

The operation began detected after a Pannipitiya brothel was raided by the Special Investigations Unit of Sri Lanka’s Mirihana Police, which operates in a Colombo suburb. The police are investigating the operation’s association with Maldives’ resorts.

Maldives Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said local police were awaiting these details before taking action locally.

“We have just heard about the operation today, once we receive more information we will launch our own investigation,” Shiyam said.

Shiyam indicated that it was a “delicate matter”.

“We have found some operations before, and sometimes there are many people who are involved,” he said, adding that the police conduct “on and off operations” targeting prostitution rings.

The accused will face deportation or appropriate legal procedures, Shiyam said. Maldivian police forces expect full cooperation from their Sri Lankan counterparts in addressing the issue.

Speaking to Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Times, Inspector H. N. B. Jayasinha said a police decoy established contact with the Pannipitiya brothel’s inner operations, explaining that clients were accepted by appointment.

The brothel was later raided and five girls were arrested along with the matron ‘Pannipitiya aunty.’ The six women arrested were of Galle, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Mahiyangana, and have been remanded until October 31.

Officials noted, however, that the brothel was part of a wider network.

Jayasinha told The Sunday Times that investigations revealed that two or three girls were sent to the Maldives on tourist visas each month, where they worked as prostitutes on islands near Male’.

Speaking to local media Haveeru, Jayasinha said the girls were lured with promises of employment, and instead were held hostage and forced into prostitution.

Haveeru today published pictures of the girls being arrested by local police at a Male’ home, however none of the ringleaders have yet been arrested.

A police investigation conducted earlier this year revealed that human trafficking had overtaken fishing as the Maldives’ second greatest contributor of foreign currency, pulling in an estimated US$123 million annually. A majority was of this industry involves the trafficking of Bangladeshi workers following false or duplicitous promises of employment, however the trafficking of sex workers has also been previously reported.

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Security switches on for SAARC

Armed forces, police and other relevant authorities are on alert for the SAARC Summit, Joint Inter Agency Taskforce Commander Hassan Ziyad said. Heads of State from the South Asian region, including high-profile leaders of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, will be arriving in Addu City starting November 5.

Ziyad told local media Haveeru that the heads of states are “considered high risk even in their own countries,” and that respective domestic security threats are being taken into account by SAARC security forces.

All attending countries are providing security measures. Indian surveillance aircraft and navy vessels are patrolling the areas around Addu City and Fuvahmulah.

Ziyad has said that six teams of sniffer dogs provided by Sri Lanka are among the most trusted security measures.

During a press conference last week, National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal assured that security was tight and “there is no risk at all, we aren’t even bothered about it.”

The armed forces will be on alert commencing Tuesday for the SAARC Summit to be held from November 10-11.

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President backs Australia’s carbon tax

President Mohamed Nasheed has declared his support of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s carbon tax proposal, and recommended other countries follow her lead.

Speaking at the close of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth on Sunday, Nasheed said the summit had accepted key recommendations on combating climate change, reports online media outlet Nine MSN.

Gillard’s proposal has been called “highly controversial” and protested across Australia since 2010, losing her significant public support. Many have expressed their concerns over higher costs for families and businesses.

Nasheed, meanwhile, praised Australia’s “brave steps” towards the tax, and hoped other countries would follow the example.

CHOGM’s final communique called for concerted global action on climate change.

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Maldives hopes “global slowdown” will bolster rufiya

Although the Maldives’ economy expanded in October, higher food and transport costs combined with the depreciating rufiyaa has bloated inflation rates to 8.3 percent, a CARE Maldives report has shown.

“Inflation during the period was mostly influenced by food index owing to the increase in prices of both fish (41.6%) and other food items (11.19%) followed by the increase in the transportation costs,” states the report.

“But this is not singular for this economy as rising prices have been witnessed across the globe,” the report contends.

Quoting a “global slowdown” in economic activity, the report suggested that international commodity prices are due to fall in coming months. The drop could temper the Maldives’ rising prices.

The recently-implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) caused many Maldivians to note a price hike with anxiety. However, the President assured the people that further reforms scheduled for January 2012 would temper the new rates.

CARE Maldives suggested that a drop in international commodity prices would also reverse the widening trade deficit and declining reserves of foreign currency. Gross international reserves declined by approximately US$27 million between December 2010 and September 2011.

Statistics show an increase of US$33.2 million in reserves to date compared with August 2010, the report claims.

CARE estimates that the fiscal deficit will remain at 11 percent of the GDP; total revenue is expected to increase from 23 percent of GDP to 29 percent by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, total expenditure continues to surpass revenue. Records indicate a four percent increase from 37 percent of GDP in 2010 to 41 percent in 2011, primarily due to growing government salaries.

“The increase in expenditure mainly reflects the restoration of wages of government employees to the levels prior to 2009. The government has however taken some steps in terms of rationalisation of manpower. The overall fiscal deficit is estimated to remain at 11 percent of GDP.”

Approximately ten percent of the Maldivian workforce is employed by the government, an ungainly figure that has been targeted as a key hemorrhage point in the government’s budget. The Finance Ministry recently asked government institutions to curb job creation and new hires.

Earlier this month, President Mohamed Nasheed said the government aimed to bring the fiscal deficit down to a single digit number.

“Government expenditure has been substantially reduced in a number of different areas. For this year, we forecast a budget deficit of 11 percent. We have noted now that it has been reduced by three or four points,” he said.

CARE Maldives summarized its report by criticising the growing inflation rate and trade deficit, but praised government policies that target these issues.

“The progressive policy measures taken by the government especially on the exchange rate combined with declining commodity prices globally would help to reverse these trends.”

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Addu accepts bids for convention centre management and hotel

Addu City Council will be accepting bids for the lease of land to design, build and operate a minimum 100-room city hotel in association with the newly-constructed convention center.

The City Council has also made the task of operating and maintaining the convention center available to public tendering.

Documents will be available at Addu City Council Secretariat starting on 30 October through 9 November.

Maldivian parties may purchase the bidding documents for Rf2000, and foreign companies will be charged US$300 for the papers.

The city council will hold a pre-bid meeting on 16 November at 2 pm.

Bidding parties are invited to the bid opening on 15 December.

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Vice President advocates for creativity at art awards ceremony

Nausheen Ahmed Nashid of Thaajuddeen School won the first prize of the “My Dream Home” children’s art competition, organised by Sunfront Private Limited.

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed spoke at last night’s award ceremony, held at Nasandhura Palace Hotel. Thanking Sunfront for organising the competition, he said artistic expression is an important factor in academic success.

The Vice President said the underdevelopment of creative skills would undermine a child’s growth in other areas.

The Vice President was pleased to note the high number of participants in the competition.

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AG appeals Criminal Court ruling on arrest of Gassan Maumoon

The Attorney General’s (AG) Office has appealed the Criminal Court’s ruling that the arrest of Gassan Maumoon was unconstitutional.

The AG’s Office told local media that it appealed because the court’s ruling contained “legal issues” and was delivered in a case that the police had not filed.

Gassan Maumoon, son of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was arrested on Monday, October 23 for allegedly throwing a wooden plank that struck and critically injured a 17-year-old boy during a protest outside of the family’s household, Endherimaage.

The protest was held by the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on October 20. Gassan was subsequently summoned twice by police, and later taken to Dhoonidhoo prison for further enquiry.

The Criminal Court however released Gassan under the claim that his arrest violated procedures established by the Supreme Court for operating article 46 of the constitution.

The ruling came after Gassan’s lawyers applied for a writ of ‘habeas corpus’, or release from unlawful detention. They argued that due process was violated as the circumstances of his arrest did not fall under exceptions provided for in the constitution where police could arrest suspects without an arrest warrant.

Article 46 states that, “No person shall be arrested or detained for an offence unless the arresting officer observes the offence being committed, or has reasonable and probable grounds or evidence to believe the person has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence, or under the authority of an arrest warrant issued by the court.”

President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair added that the court had cited a precedent set by the Supreme Court on a similar case, stating that a suspect should be arrested at the scene of the crime. Otherwise, said Zuhair, a suspect should be arrested at the scene where evidence is found.

Zuhair observed that the court’s policy on article 46 restricts the due course of justice.

“The police had investigated the case and detained Gassan when they thought they had enough evidence. They submitted the evidence to the court and followed the procedures in place. What other procedures should they use, especially in a time-sensitive case such as a case of violence?” he said.

Zuhair added that if the court’s claim against the police’s arrest procedures went undisputed, all individuals arrested during the protest would have to be released.

Police Superintendent Mohamed Jinah insisted at the time of the court’s ruling that the arrest was lawful as police had reasonable grounds to suspect Gassan had committed a crime and were prepared to submit early evidence.

If Gassan’s arrest was unlawful, said Jinah, “everyone police have arrested and brought before the court [for extension of detention] was arrested in violation of the constitution.”

On October 26, police released 11 suspects who had been arrested without a warrant on suspicion of having committed an offence.

When asked if the appeal was expected to overturn the court’s ruling against the police. Zuhair was optimistic.

There are two key points of argument, he said. “How was a private member of Gayoom’s family able to launch a case in the Criminal Court without first going through the Civil Court, as is the usual course of action, and secondly, how else were the police supposed to submit their evidence, other than the procedure in place, which they used?”

Gassan’s case involves another first: after the police were allegedly summoned to and “thrown out” of the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office, the PG publicly stated that it was seeking legal advice from the Supreme Court. “This is unprecedented, usually these cases are appealed to the High Court,” Zuhair said.

“I hope this is resolved quickly because there is a growing concern among a wide section of society over the impartiality of the judiciary,” he concluded.

Recently, MDP requested international assistance in overcoming the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary.”

The request was made in relation to a Supreme Court case in which Gassan has contested MP Mohamed Musthafa’s election to parliament in May 2009.

“The Supreme Court case is the latest installment of an ongoing attempt by Gayoom to secure a parliamentary seat for his son, Gassan Maumoon,” a statement sent by MDP and subsequently forwarded to diplomatic missions and United Nations offices by the Foreign Ministry alleged.

Recent actions in the judicial system have indicated a deep and tangled history of politically biased judicial rulings.

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the watchdog body charged with overseeing the judiciary, abolished its Complaints Committee citing “efficiency”, with complaints against judges subsequently forwarded for review by the legal section and Chair Adam Mohamed Abdulla, a Supreme Court Justice.

Last year the JSC received 143 complaints concerning the conduct of judges. By its own statistics none were tabled in the commission, and only five were ever replied to.

Chair of the former complaints commission, Aishath Velezinee, was meanwhile stabbed in the street in January this year.

The JSC also failed to table or even acknowledge receipt of a report on the judiciary produced by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which questioned whether the JSC possessed the technical ability and knowledge to investigate complaints and hold the judiciary accountable, as well as its independence.

In the wake of these developments, Zuhair said lawyers have begun forums to openly discuss allegations against the judicial system. “They are active and getting a fair amount of media coverage, I think they may formulate reforms for two laws concerning judges and the judiciary,” he said.

The laws involve the process of appointing judges to the Supreme Court, and the qualifications required of a Supreme Court judge.

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