Stories about Maldives

What Is Really Wrong With Policing in Maldives?

  15 April 2015

Blogger Kureege Fuluheh is a Maldivian ex-police officer, who writes about issues in policing and the police service in Maldives. The blogger analyses how the Maldives Police Service (MPS) is perceived by people over the last seven years and discusses what is the way forward: Worrying is police’ behaviour towards members...

Updates on the 18th SAARC Summit On Social Media

  27 November 2014

The ongoing summit of the The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was covered by international media with different perspectives. However non-official initiatives such as 18th SAARC Summit blog, Facebook account, Twitter and Google+ account are aggregating updates on the summit for easy archiving. Here are some examples: This...

How to Stop the Dhivehi Language From Dying

  14 June 2014

Dhivehi, the national language of Maldives, is a pidgin language spoken primarily by the Maldivians. However, practically every Maldivian speaks English, the unofficial second language, because it’s the language used in Maldivian school curricula. Lack of proper language standards is impeding the growth of Dhivehi. Aishath Khashia at Work of...

Homosexual Asylum Seekers from The Maldives Face Prosecution Upon Return

  6 June 2014

Same-sex relationships, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are illegal in the Maldives under Sharia law and there are several cases of prosecution against persons of same-sex orientation. Ibrahim Muaz, a spokesman at the President’s Office recently said that Maldivians seeking asylum abroad on grounds of religion or sexuality can be...

Maldives’ Morality Police Target Youth

  12 May 2014

Maldives has one of the most youthful populations in the world with more than half of the population under the age of 25. But a lot of them are being increasingly harassed by moral policing by the society and the authorities, reports Dhivehi Sitee blog.

The Sustainable Fishing Practices of Dhivehi Reef Fishermen

  28 February 2014

Maldivian blogger Hani Amir writes about the traditional fishing methods of the reef fishermen of Maldives which include catching tons of fish with their hands, instead of nets or rods. The bloggers also sheds light on how they are being exploited by greedy resort owners who tries to exploit them...

What It's Like Growing Up In The Maldives?

  28 December 2013

Journalist and blogger Hilath Rasheed shares a Maldivian's thoughts in Facebook on “How is it like growing up in Male'/Maldives”: From Ibrahim Lirar: The most honest answer I can give now is that “it is scary and constricting”. Information was so tightly control until recently. Very few among us grew...

The State Of Freedom Of Religion in Maldives

  21 December 2013

The Maldives ranks high on the list of governments that restrict religious freedom. Maldivian citizens have to be Muslim and cannot practice any religion other than Islam. Non-Muslim foreigners cannot vote, worship publicly, obtain citizenship, and hold public positions. Journalist Hilath Rasheed notes that Maldives perhaps will not be able...

Maldives Presidential Votes Will Need A Second Round

  12 September 2013

88% of the 240,000 voters in Maldives voted last Saturday (7 September, 2013) to elect a president, hoping to end the long political turmoil. As Mohamed Nasheed, the first elected president of Maldives, who was ousted in a coup 20 months ago, couldn't secure a majority, the poll headed to...

Caring For The Migrant Workers in Maldives

  12 July 2013

Amira at Mindblur comments: The population of the Maldives is a little over 300,000 people and we employee over 100,000 expatriate workers mainly in menial jobs in the construction industry, as housemaids, cleaners, helpers in various places, etc. This high proportion of the population would mean the Government should put...

TV Journalist Attacked In Maldives

  12 March 2013

Ibrahim ‘Aswad’ Waheed, Head of News of Raaje TV, an independent television channel, was attacked by unidentified persons recently in the Maldivian capital Male. Maldivian journalists joined in protests demanding press freedom and protection of journalists which can be seen in pictures at photo-blogger Bug's blog.

First Response Services In The Maldives

  13 January 2013

Maeed points out to the dilapidated state of some of the first response services in Maldives and wonders whether it is effective for donor agencies and financial supporters to invest in the Maldives.

Looking Back at 2012 in South Asia – Part II

  29 December 2012

Pakistan's dismal human rights record just gets worse, India's rising rape rates have sent the society into a flux, Bangladesh rejected Myanmar's Rohingya refugees, the regions relatively stable country - Maldives- saw a spiraling political crisis, and protests in post-war Sri Lanka against price hikes were met with police brutality. It has been a rough year in South Asia. And we have been covering the bad and the good all year at Global Voices. Here are some highlights from this years coverage.