About Nihan Zafar
I am a dissident in Maldives where I have spent most of my life. For some this is a picture-perfect paradise; for others this is a hell-hole of human rights abuses and torture.
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October 15th, 2008
Maldives: Election fever in blogosphere
The presidential election being held in Maldives is the first multi-party election in the country. This election is believed by many Maldivians as their chance to bring democracy to a country that has been ruled dictatorially by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom since he became president in November 1978.
Gayoom has ruled for ...
August 14th, 2008
Maldives: Non-Muslims to be Barred from Citizenship?
On 7 August, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the President of the Maldives, and Asia's longest serving ruler, ratified the amended constitution of the country. It culminated a process of constitutional amendment that lasted four years. One controversial amendment would prevent non-Muslims from becoming citizens of the Maldives, curtailing freedom of religion in the country.
March 23rd, 2008
Maldives: Living with contaminated groundwater
As the world observed World Water Day on March 22, issues concerning sanitation and access to safe water were discussed and debated in the media. This year’s theme for WWD is sanitation as 2008 is the International Year of Sanitation.
Maldivian bloggers have brought water and sanitation issues to the forefront ...
January 14th, 2008
Maldives: Aftermath of an assassination attempt
It looks like a scene out of a Tintin or Asterix comic book. On January 8, during a campaign tour of a northern atoll, while the Maldives dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was shaking hands with people gathered to welcome him at Hoarafushi island, a 20 year-old lunged at him with ...
September 28th, 2007
Maldives: Facebook and blogs used to organize vigil to remember torture victim
On 19 September 2003 a conflict among some inmates of Maafushi Jail in the Maldives led to 12 of them being isolated from their cells. Among the isolated was Hassan Evan Naseem, a 19 year-old boy imprisoned because of drug-related charges. Evan insisted that he was not part of the ...
September 3rd, 2007
Maldives: Inhumane Treatment of Migrant Workers
The Maldivian government was able to prevent Bangladeshi migrant workers' community in the capital Malé from holding a demonstration on Friday, by using the threat of deportation. The Bangladeshi community, consisting of mainly unskilled workers, was trying to protest against the rise of xenophobia in the Maldives, and increasing attacks ...
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