Friday, October 28, 2011

Motion of No Confidence Against HRCM

For failing to protect the human rights of citizens, a motion of no confidence against the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) is being considered by the MDP Parliamentary Group, said Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Mustafa to Minivan News yesterday.

When HRCM was approached regarding the situation of Homosexuality in June 2011, they quoted growing religious extremism as the reason why the Queer community of Maldives was being ignored by them. They have failed to answer e-mails and phone calls since regarding this matter.

“We have noticed that the HRCM members that we appointed have failed to protect the rights of the citizens, and are more concerned about protecting the rights of particular persons”, said MP Mustafa. “I am ashamed of HRCM for they have showed no effort in fulfilling the duty assigned to them.”

He boldly went on to claim that “… there is no use of the current HRCM members and paying money to them is a big waste”. He also called on the resignation of the commission members and said the commission would be “better with empty desks”.

Sex between same-sex adults remains criminalized in the Maldives. According to the Section 15, clause 173 (8a) “Sexual activity with a member of the same sex”, under the “Rules of adjudication”, the punishment is to be lashed (tha’zeer) between 19 to 39 times and banished or imprisoned for a period between 1 to 3 years, taking into account, the severity of the offence.

The consideration of the overdue motion of no confidence against HRCM arrives after a teenage boy was seriously injured and left disabled, and exactly two years after the Islamic Ministry criticises HRCM whilst in an attempt to shift focus from the issue of child concubines in the Maldives by saying that Homosexuality is rampant and being promoted after a letter on Homoesxuality was published on Minivan News in September 2009.

A biological and behavioural survey (BBS) on HIV/AIDS in 2008 in the Maldives revealed the size of the population of men who have sex with men (MSM) was estimated to be between 1,600 – 4,200. 


Via:  i ♥ f k

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fact Sheet: HIV AIDS as of October 2011

Enhancing the Response to HIV/AIDS in the Maldives

HIV/AIDS Situation

At the end of 31 December 2005, a total of 13 HIV cases among Maldivians, and 168 HIV cases among expatriate workers have been reported. Of the 13 HIV-positive cases reported among Maldivians, 10 were sailors, two were the spouses of these sailors, and one was a resort worker who travelled abroad with a foreign tourist. Eleven HIV cases were male. All infections were acquired through heterosexual route of transmission. Compared to many countries in the region it has a very low prevalence of HIV. The challenge for the Maldives is to ensure it remains a low HIV prevalence country in spite of increasing high risk behaviours among some population groups.

Global Fund Partnership

The Phase II (September 2009 – August 2012) of the Global Fund grant to Maldives totals US $ 2.289million. The grant emphasizes prevention strategies to ensure that Maldives maintains a low prevalence of HIV by primarily targeting those population groups most at risk and creating a supportive environment, to ensure not only support for HIV/AIDS initiatives but also to reduce the stigma and discrimination often facing people who are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in the Maldives.

OVERVIEW

In partnership with the Global Fund, UNDP is committed to support the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS (2007-2011) to create a supportive environment to reduce HIV transmission and HIV-related morbidity, mortality and disability in the Maldives.

Its main components include: 
1.    Prevent HIV transmission among young people; 
2.    Prevent HIV transmission among populations at risk such as migrant, seafarers and resort workers; 
3. Increase awareness and knowledge about STIs (sexually
transmitted infection) / HIV; 
4.    Easy accessibility to quality HIV testing and counselling; 
5.    Strengthen the prevention and control of STIs; 
6. Strengthen health service capacity to provide care and
treatment for HIV/AIDS patients; 
7.    Strengthen health systems capacity for prevention of HIV & other such infections through blood and blood products; 
8.    Strengthen strategic information system for HIV; Strengthen multi sectorial response to HIV/AIDS.

UNDP Support

UNDP acts as the Principle Recipient (PR) for this project. As PR, UNDP is responsible for the financial and programmatic management of the GFATM grant as well as for the procurement of health and non-health products. In all areas of implementation, it provides capacity development services to sub-recipients (SR) and implementing partners.

Sub-recipients

National AIDS Programme, Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC), Department of Drug Prevention and Rehabilitation Services (DDPRS) and Family with Journey (NGO) and Society for Health & Education - SHE (NGO) implements the programme activities under the guidance of the Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM)

Contribution to Capacity Development

In order to strengthen the national response to HIV in the Maldives, UNDP has provided consistent support to the government and the civil society organizations to be involved in planning and implementing key activities that impacts HIV response. Programme support staffs from the government and the civil society were trained in the following areas of:
•    Programme Management 
•    Behaviour Change Communication. 
•    procurement supply management 
•    financial management 
•    monitoring and evaluation

Key stakeholders in the mapping of high risk groups UNDP has linked Technical Assistance from the World Bank to conduct the first of its kind in-depth mapping exercise of the Most-at-Risk Populations in the Maldives.

UNDP facilitated the participation of key Policy makers, stakeholders and representatives from the targeted population in the International Conference on AIDS in Asia-Pacific (ICAAP), exposure visits and supported the enhancement of knowledge in programming and implementation of HIV related services for youth    through    stakeholder    consultations.    Training    and sensitization sessions were conducted for the law enforcement officers on Most-at-Risk Populations’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and to enhance their knowledge on HIV/AIDS.

Health care personnel were trained Volunteer Counseling and testing, safe blood transfusions; consolidated blood transfusion services and on HIV care needs and ARV and peer group education trainings were conducted on HIV AIDS risks for drug users and Injecting drug users.

UNDP mobilized Technical Assistance for the sub-recipients in the areas of Financial Management, Monitoring and Evaluation and Blood Safety.

Key Achievements

•    UNDP facilitated a joint mid-term review of the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS (NSP) 2007-2011 with technical assistance from the World Bank, UNAIDS, WHO, UNICEF, UNODC and the National AIDS Programme of the Ministry of Health.

• A research-based advocacy meeting was held for the parliament members on drug abuse and HIV scenario in the Maldives highlighting the current issues that needs need to be considered when passing the recently drafted Drug Bill.

• As a result of the joint action plan formulated after the ICAAP meeting, the issue of HIV was addressed in the sermons (nation- wide) of two Friday prayers and sessions on HIV and the preventative behaviours within the Islamic context was delivered in seven mosques. A sensitization workshop on HIV was also held for the Islamic scholars in partnership with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

• HIV prevention intervention DUs and IDUs held for prisons inmates covering 100% female and 84% of male inmates population in Maafushi Prison (as of March 2009) .

• UN Joint team on HIV/AIDS acquired funding from theUNAIDS Programme Accelerated Funds (PAF) to conduct a Biological and Behavioural Survey in the Prisons of the Maldives.

• National Monitoring & Evaluation Plan on HIV/AIDS developed. 

• Mass Media campaign on HIV Prevention “HIV ah huras alhamaa” was launched targeting high risk groups.

• Interventions for migrants on HIV prevention conducted in five languages (Bengali, Tamil, Nepalese, Singhalese and English). Multilingual outreach programmes initiated and on-going.

• Public private partnerships were established to conduct outreach sensitization of HIV/AIDS workplace education to pave way for formulating a constructive workplace HIV policy.

Looking to the Future

• Strengthening of the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) systems 
• Implement targeted interventions for the MARPs and vulnerable populations 
• Strengthening the prevention and control of STIs and expand access and coverage of quality HIV testing and counseling 
• Strengthen multi sectorial response to address HIV/AIDS


Source: UNDP Maldives

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Why minorities tend to make more noise

Via Hilath.com | October 8th, 2011

It’s common sense that when you are a minority (like a Maldivian Christian, Wahhabi, atheist, gay, lesbian, etc) your sense of survival will be more heightened especially if the majority of the people are seen as trying to force you to bend to their will by making it a must in the Maldives’ Constitution that all Maldivian Citizens be strictly Sunni Muslims and cannot belong to either other Muslim denominations like Sufism and Shiittism and other religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.

So Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed could be forgiven for writing this opinion column in Minivan News titled Anwar al-Awalaki’s killing is unjustified, in that Wahhabis have their hopes dashed now because unlike their expectations during the most harsh latter years of Gayoom’s rule, the majority of Maldivians — despite the fear-mongering by Wahhabi extremists like the Salaf of the 2004 tsunami being a “God’s wrath” on Maldives — are still maintaining their moderate stand. 

In fact recently there have been a wave of young Maldivians shaving off their beards while their female counterparts took off their burkas. Wahhabis, especially the intolerant and extremist among them, are now realizing that moderate Muslim Maldivians would only tolerate Wahhabi nonsense as long as such nonsense is not forcibly imposed upon the majority moderate Muslim Maldivians who believe in things like technology, vaccination and empowerment of women.

Hence, Mr. Ibrahim’s attempts at trying to project that the majority of Maldivians support Anwar al-Awlaki is misleading because I personally have yet to come across a rational Maldivian who thinks Mr. Anwar is a hero. 

As I said before on this blog, Maldives needs to have a think tank or a brave enough NGO to conduct polls and surveys because otherwise we would have religious zealots like Mr. Ibrahim making false statements on behalf of the majority of Maldivians when the majority of Maldivians do not endorse the extremist ideology he is promoting. In fact, the whole article, in a nutshell, seems to be Mr. Ibrahim’s covert attempt to project that a majority of Maldivians support Mr. Anwar’s extremist ideology. In various phrases, Mr. Ibrahim tries to project Extremism as the true Islam, which is most unfortunate and tragic, and perhaps would lead to anger among true Muslim Maldivians who wouldn’t want Islam’s name associated with a violence-preaching Hypocrite like Mr. Anwar.

Mr. Ibrahim’s article, and the many commentators that regularly post feedback on Minivan News and Haveeru Online, demonstrate that Maldivians are very much polarized now not just in politics but in religion as well. For instance, on one hand you would have extremist-leaning commentators like Mr. Ibrahim who promotes an ideology in which all non-Wahhabis do not have a right to live, while on the other extreme, radical atheists would equally say harsh things about Islam, just short of calling to kill anyone. 

If Maldivians immediately do not find a way to leave extremism of all sorts behind, and find a way to exist in harmony together, there would be no peace of mind for anyone in this society. We may think that we can continue to be radically opposed to each other, comfortable in the belief that we can afford to do so because this is such a small society where everyone is related to blood and therefore no one can afford to become violent towards another because he will suffer in return from a violent act, but why hide behind this kind of social “deterrence”? Why are we afraid to embrace diversity? Why do we need everyone to have the same belief or religion in order to be friends? Or do Maldivians have a disorder which prevents them from having humanity and acting kind towards other human beings who may happen to believe in a different religion? We need to find answers – and soon!

I’m not here to debate whether it was ethical to kill Mr. Anwar because we would then have to go back hundreds of years of history but I think we can safely assume that the current conflicts in Palestine, Afghanistan, etc are the result of Muslims themselves failing to act responsibly, and worse because moderate Muslims remained silent when a lot of their poverty-stricken brothers began to turn to not only Wahhabism but its most extremist form, the Taliban ideology promoted by al-Qaeda. 

It is also tragic that Mr. Ibrahim claims there is no evidence that Mr. Anwar was a terrorist, because whether the videos were removed from YouTube, we have already seen him engage in what an average moderate Muslim Maldivian will recognize as hate speech and incitement to violence and hatred. Therefore I find it unacceptable that Mr. Ibrahim should paint Mr. Anwar as some kind of Islamic hero because true Muslims would regard Mr. Anwar as a Hypocrite with a blood lust who have to take responsibility for the deaths of many innocent Muslims and non-Muslims. 

I’m sure most Maldivians are intelligent and ethical and need no patronizing from anyone — and would certainly want to dissociate themselves from Mr. Anwar because terror-supporters like Mr. Anwar have been sadly successful in painting Islam in a bad light, the result being that Muslims all over the world are now targeted for hatred because Mr. Anwar’s misguided actions have led many non-Muslims to believe that Islam is a violent religion.

So while I have nothing personal against Mr. Ibrahim, as a fellow Muslim but Sufi brother, I can only pray that he gets sense from his current misguided-ness and try to see the fact that it is this democracy which is even helping a minority Wahhabi like him with extremist views to survive here.
Mr. Ibrahim should understand that other minorities, like non-Muslim Maldivians, like the minority Wahhabis as well, also have a right to survive in this land. Therefore I would greatly appreciate if he also join hands with other minorities and help to strengthen this democracy by supporting freedom of religion which is a right given by the Quran to every human being. 

I can understand why Mr. Ibrahim and other minority Wahhabis may acquire extremist views, because as I said at the beginning of this blogpost, minorities will feel more pressure to survive in a community like Maldives especially when the majority thinks that democracy is suppressing minorities instead of protecting individual rights of every citizen. 

But Wahhabis should also realize that they should control their anger over their grievances which is resulting in them turning to violence — and try not to hijack the government and impose its will on the rest of other Maldivians because only when they themselves adopt a moderate and tolerant attitude will the majority of moderate Muslim Maldivians and other minority Maldivians will let go of their fear of Wahhabis and leave them alone to live in peace as they like. 

As I’ve always said, if Wahhabis prevented themselves from going to extremism and stopped calling for the deaths of non-Muslims, then I am sure minority Wahhabis will have nothing to fear in Maldives and that other non-minorities like radical atheists would also become quiet, and that the reason why minorities like atheists have become as radical as the Wahhabis is because extremist Wahhabis are calling for their deaths. It’s like a hate cycle kept in loop because one party — the Wahhabis — do not want non-Muslims to exist on earth. Now, come on…

That’s why this then makes the majority moderate Muslim Maldivians strange bedfellows of Maldivian minorities because the common enemy seems the extremist version of Wahhabism which will not tolerate the other two groups. That’s why the majority of Maldivians who are moderate Muslims would rather support minorities like non-Muslim Maldivians instead of Wahhabi extremists because everyone knows that if the extremists among Wahhabis come to power, then it will be death for both non-Muslim Maldivians and the majority moderate Muslim Maldivians who so much love simple pleasures of life like the Internet and cable TV.

It is also tragic that Mr. Ibrahim in his article tried to project Jihad as a war that has to be initiated by Muslims against Jews and Christians even if they don’t provoke Muslims. I tend to agree with Ibra who told off Sheikh Fareed, that just because Allah recounted the history of Jews and Christians in the Quran, it does not necessarily mean that Allah is directly commanding modern-day Muslims to take the law into their own hands and carry out a non-discriminate extermination campaign of the People of the Book.

As I said earlier, we need a think tank or a brave enough NGO who can undertake to conduct regular polls and surveys about contentious issues that arise. For example, currently the government for political purposes always cite Maldives as a 100 percent Islamic country although every rational human being knows that any human society can never be 100 percent in anything because no humans can ever think alike or believe in the same thing, or even when believing in the same thing, believe from the same angle… 

It’s tragic that power-hungry people seek homogeneity and conformity in ideology and practice, having an inexplicable fear and insecurity in allowing for diversity, in allowing for people to grow up intellectually and develop as responsible adults for diversity to act as a catalyst to main harmony in society. Rather, the groups of people who have vested interests in the nation’s power and wealth, aim to keep Maldivians firmly under their psychological control by creating fear that if Maldivians deviated to other sects or religions there will be violence.

Which, when you think about it, is treating the average Maldivian as stupid, and kind of saying that the average Maldivian, rather than listen to the peaceful message of the Quran, would rather for no reason go and kill his neighbor just because the neighbor had left Islam. Is the average Maldivian really violent? Aren’t you personally insulted when what the “100-percent” supporters actually mean is that the average Maldivian, including yourself, is stupid and violent, and will go off on a killing spree, hunting down all neighbors who don’t believe in Islam? Come on. 

Real Muslim Maldivians haven’t forgotten the Quran’s message that “there’s no compulsion in religion” and therefore we are not going to kill another Maldivian just because he leaves Islam. It is for Allah to judge, not us weak humans. The only conclusion I can come to, therefore, is that if any Maldivian is against freedom of religion, then it is only because he has a dark desire to have psychological control over other people.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Does love have a shelf life?

Via Hilath.com | 3 Oct 2011

A journalist friend recently said that scientific studies show that “after a few orgasms”, a straight couple’s bond “bio-chemically” cements into a fiercely loyal, emotional, monogamous relationship, and that, the spark of romance exists for the next four years — just only enough to ensure that at least the first offspring can make through the first critical three years of life in the safe and secure arms of two loving biological parents.

Smells like Darwinism and you are right. All human feelings and emotions are just reactions in our neurons to physical reception from events occurring in our surroundings.

The above finding is attributed to heterosexual relationships which interestingly raises the question: is there an expiry date to monogamous gay relationships as well?

“True love” is said to be rare in heterosexuals despite 99.99 percent of Dhivehi movies’ unsuccessful attempts at convincing anyone with real-world examples that monogamous heterosexual relationships are as long-lasting and as plentiful as found in its fantastic productions. There is definitely no happily ever after for the Maldivian men and women where the divorce rate is competing with the wedding rate. Thus perhaps one could find a rationale behind why even sensible-sounding Western artists also sing of “love” always — as if they had discovered a magic that only a minority of the population has been lucky enough to discover. True love.

They would perhaps say that if most people let go of their cynicism and be ready to accept this magical thing called love and not shy away from it, fearing emotional insecurity in dealing with a possible breakup, then maybe we can find some sense why pop culture is all about romantic love.
I have personally experienced love a few times and am sure will experience more because I am quite welcoming to all sorts of new experiences and I never push people away.

It is unlikely that I will ever become monogamous — unless I come across a guy who is as liberated as me and who has infinite humanity in him, which I think can only be a rare cosmic event. See, I wouldn’t “marry” just anyone, I am very choosy, and therefore, I can only accept as my equal another Gandhi — or an equal or greater spirit — of modern times.

So although I would like a Firefly of my own, I am not going to waste time necessarily searching for it. If it comes, then I’ll welcome it. If it doesn’t, well, there are enough interesting things in this world to keep you totally engaged during your short one life.

So perhaps it’s time some scientists studied whether there is a biological clock that will put a stop to all budding gay marriages — once the double-sperm mixed offspring’s critical three years are over ;-)

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