Deadly Silence: Violence Against Women In Maldives

“Violence against women doesn’t exist in the Maldives,” the Ministry of Gender reportedly told filmmaker Ali Rasheed in 2002.

The ministry had just commissioned Rasheed to make them a documentary. His remit? To prove them wrong.

Faced with stiff resistance from island chiefs and other officials who denied existence of the problem, Rasheed befriended locals and exposed the full range of violence experienced by women.

His documentary covered domestic abuse, marital rape, and even murder. At this point, he says, the problem had never before been discussed on a public platform.

Sadly, violence against women in the Maldives is still a largely silent and underreported issue, despite shocking statistics showing one in three women aged 15 to 49 experience abuse.

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With sermons such as those given by Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed Ahmed – who recently declared that more women than men go to hell – it is patent than some men consider women occupy a subordinate position in society, she argues.

Unless openly condemned, she says, such views could continue to reinforce the status quo.

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On a legal note, it is widely acknowledged that violence against women has no chance of being eliminated until drastic amendments to the legislation are made.

At present, the law offers very little protection to women. Few cases result in a conviction, which makes prosecution seem futile.

Under the current legislation, marital rape is not a crime and a man can only be convicted if there are two male witnesses or four female witnesses willing to testify or if he is willing to confess.

Family law is no better. If a woman wants a divorce, she is told to return to her husband for a further three months in the hope of reconciliation; an inappropriate course of action for a woman in an abusive relationship.

According to Velizinee, suitable counselling is not offered at family courts.

"What happens is that a judge gives a sermon on women and how they should be treated according to Islam. This doesn’t address the issue and actually puts the victim in more danger,” she says.

Read the complete article before you book your honeymoon holiday to the Maldives.