The gender-bended Maldives society — though they aren’t aware of it yet

via Hilath.com

This video uploaded to Rainbow Maldives YouTube channel is probably the first openly gender-bending Dhivehi music video to be aired publicly, on a public forum by a private party/person. I heard that, like the Vilureef “wedding” video, which included a lot of gay and other sexual slurs, this was also a video uploaded by a Maldivian for “fun” but what we actually get to see is, at least, Maldivians’ unexplained infatuation with cross-dressing men, be they the transvestite-wannabes at your average circumcision festivity in Male’.

The important thing is that this video has been out and Rainbow Maldives will not be removing it from YouTube. The other noteworthy thing about it is that, whether for spoof or sarcastic or mockery purposes, the video still plays like your average Kasauti hetero love song — complete with a “woman” (the cross-dressing man with long hair or wig perhaps) and (real) man who acts the “man’s part” to another otherwise heterosexual romantic love song.

Today morning another funny thing I came across was while walking by Olympus Theatre in Male’, this poster of Dhivehi film “Udhabaani” which is to be re-released to mark its Mega-Hit status!

 

A reporter friend of mine wrote this in his review of “Udhabaani“:

And now for the twist. Once you see the twist, things make a bit more sense. Not much, but more than before. You see, it’s not really Amira the sea-monster is after. It’s Eyoopee! Maybe the sea-monster was gay or maybe it was female, you can’t really tell with all that stupid makeup on, but it was one hell of a twist. Take that, Shyamalan!

Now I know what you’re going to say, but hear me out. It gets better. Consider the victims. First to go is the Dad. By putting Dad out of the picture the monster paves the way to break up Eyoopee and Amira. Next is Eyoopee’s best friend, who spends waaaay too much time with Eyoopee. Then it’s the Fanditha-man, who sadly was totally oblivious to Eyoopee’s subtle advances and hints about ‘sleeping alone’ but the horny sea-monster saw through it. Others died too but they were just scare tactics to get Amira to run away from Eyoopee. Ultimately the horny sea-monster’s plans fail and he decides to face off with his rival once and for all in an ultimate love showdown to win Eyoopee’s love. 

I took this close-up shot from a nearby wall and possibly the poster being stuck on a pink poster is probably a coincidence — as is the sudden surge in Maldivian young men sporting the very very gay skinnies and pink shirts and pink T-shirts.

Pink, said by some scientists to be the most “peaceful on the eyes” seems to have transformed into a “feminine” color during the world’s Feminist Movement – according to some analysts. And, due to the twisted educational system of Maldives, most Maldivians, too, automatically relate pink to the Feminist and Gay Movements.

Though the Maldives Constitution is anti-Islamic — in that it tries to “spread Islam by the sword” by prohibiting Maldivians from freely embracing other religions — the Constitution (surprise surprise) protects sexuality rights of Maldivian Citizens, including gay and lesbian and other gender rights, as pointed out to Fandiyaaru Kakuni (he told me) by none other than a gracious Maldivian Judge:

Retention of other rights.

(a) the enumeration of rights and freedoms in this Chapter are guaranteed equally to female and male persons.

(b) the enumeration of rights and freedoms individually in this Chapter shall not be construed to deny or negate other rights retained by the people which are not specified in this Chapter.

Article 62, the Constitution of the Maldives

(Source: maldivesinfo.gov.mv)

As I said earlier, I am not sure why suddenly some Maldivian male youth are boldly wearing pink. Are they making an open statement? Or are they damn clueless? (heh heh… I am writing “damn clueless” because that adjective seems more “masculine” rather than “simply clueless” perhaps because of the funny Alicia Silverstone movie, Clueless):

Hence, I do wonder whether the average Maldivian male teenager is really aware that their Conservative-media-brainwashed parental generation would probably think that there is something queer about their sons who wear pink when they are instead supposed to “perform masculinity” by “acting like a man” and probably preferably where black, which again, if you know, is considered a gay color in some circles. There’s no escaping it! heh heh … Perhaps Mezzo Mohamed should be aware of this, as I haven’t seen him wear anything other than black:

Of course, Tedry is one of the few Maldivian male directors who don’t seem to have any homophobic issues and quite interestingly is not afraid of pitching the man as the sex object rather than the woman:

If Maldivian male teenagers are in fact making a bold statement by wearing pink and black, in open defiance of their Conservative parents, then good for them. I salute them. And last I heard, Rainbow Maldives is recruiting daring and courageous Maldivian youngsters to openly fight for gay rights and perhaps hold Maldives’ first Gay Pride March – across the capital Male’s main street Majeedee Magu perhaps, what a sight that would be!

This peer and social pressure to “perform masculinity” is, I believe from my personal experiences in the Maldivian Underground Networks, the root cause of the anti-social attitude which is creating a criminal class of youngsters. As I’ve said in countless blogposts, it is self-evident that religion and sex are the two very personal things for every human being, and if peers and the society prevent the individual from achieving his/her religious and sexual goals, he/she will automatically start resenting his/her family, peers and the society at large. Period.

If you look at their background, they would have suffered from some form of psychological, physical or sexual abuse or neglect, resulting in them to act anti-social and operate in gangs and unleash gangsterism – just to spite their family and society which they feel resulted in their “arrested development.” 

I can’t help but feel empathy and sympathy for these damaged kids and be protective for them. To you they may be the unthinking ruthless knife-stabbing addicts but to me they are a blatant mirror that shows me the true – and ugly – face of this sick society we call the Maldives, and every time I see them is a stark reminder of how our families and the society failed to do their duties to us as children and adolescents.

So, I believe that all Maldives’ current social woes have a gender issue behind them. If our parents and peers stopped defining for us what it means to be a man, or a woman, or some other gender, it will be less stressful for us as kids. It’s time you self-righteous Wahhabi and other Conservative parents left alone your kids to believe in whatever religion they want to and also not only allow but to actively encourage them to develop whatever kind of sexuality they like or prefer or they think naturally comes to them. Or if you are afraid to encourage their individualness, then at least leave them alone because their sexuality and sexual life is none of your business!

Look at these repressed kids: if they have sex with a girl, it’s a sort of “gang-rape” call “buffet” (yes, the English word has become a Dhivehi word) to mean maybe even 10 or more guys having it with one girl, after everyone is drunk on alcohol, or marijuana, or heroin, or all of them.

Their wives and girlfriends are nothing more than baby-making machines sitting at home to uphold the “heterosexual and patriarchal family” image that the hypocritical Maldives society expects of them. These guys almost all the time hang out with other guys, meaning they really enjoy the company of guys and not girls, and engage in men-only physical contact games like Baibalaa:

During one of the sacred nights of the last fasting month of Ramazan, one of the most unholy and shocking homoerotic images I saw on MNBC One (not the above video though) was when the cameraperson zoomed in on the guy running out of the ring, and as his loosely stitched clothes (which would give Elizabeth Hurley a run for her money), come off, grabbed by the opponents’ hands, it was like a male strip show disguised as a “sport”. The underlying concept is similar to this:

As I was sitting at a cafe at the harbor, it was a most surreal image: a well-muscled guy’s clothes (the shirt and shorts held “strategically” in clasps, like Hurely) dropping off one by one as other males make a grab for him — and MNBC One showing the replay of the scene in slow motion, in the end he running out of the ring in only skin-tight tights which leave nothing to the imagination as to the shape and size of his crotch.

At this point, a very useful article about Gender Identity Disorder is found again on Fandiyaaru Kakuni’s blog. Read it. It really gives an insight on why sex and gender – male and female – is not clearly defined, not to mention the obvious fact that all human beings would have received both male and female genes because we are the product of both a man and a woman.

“Perhaps there is no one answer, that sexual orientation, whether homosexual or heterosexual; gay, straight, lesbian, or bisexual, all are a cause of a complex interaction between environmental, cognitive, and anatomical factors, shaping the individual at an early age.” (Homosexuality: Nature or Nurture by Ryan D. Johnson)

Thus the unnecessary pain and unnecessary hatred created in gays and people of other genders and sexualities – Heterophobia – towards their friends who, quite openly in public, enjoy “strictly heterosexual privileges” that are “taken for granted” by the larger society:

Gay people know all too well that we take a risk and we face a decision when we display affection in public, come out as Queer, talk about our significant other, or even just being who we are with regards to our gender expression.

How do you feel about heterosexual privileged, people who don’t need to think twice about their actions, and how can we make the world a safer and more tolerant place for us?

Indeed, I have to salute all the “bangaalhees”, the unskilled male expatriate construction workers in Male’ who don’t give a fuck to the gay slurs aimed at them by the homophobic male Maldivian teenagers, simply for the fact that South Asians, especially the Indian Subcontinent, where the multiple genders and sexes of human beings are not only tolerated but accepted and promoted. 

You might find this surprising but it is Western narrowmindedness which has actually created the label “gay” which means “men who have sex with men”. Come on, there’s more to that. Anybody who has seen Sholay does not automatically think that Darmendra and Amitabh were gay to sing “Yeh Dosti” (“This Friendship”) while hooting on a motorcycle in a mixture of masculine and feminine expression of joy. In fact, to Indian and Maldivian audiences, this is one of the most moving scenes in Indian cinema (English subtitles included) and there is nothing gay about it in the narrow Western definition:

People should stop “categorizing” things and people into “black and white” generalizations because ultimately, nothing in Nature is straightforward. The Universe we exist in is indeed complex.

So, hats off to all Hijras (the “third gender” in Pakistan) who don’t feel ashamed to be who they naturally are:

So, what is the choice left to “effeminate” (and therefore supposedly automatically gay) people like me? Straight acting?:

We have all done it, know someone who does it, or have varying understandings of what the term means. “Straight Acting” is when a Queer person is not exhibiting any mannerisms that appear to fit an LGBTQ stereotype. For example a gay man who tries to fit in by avoiding seeming effeminate, or a lesbian who tries to avoid seeming overtly masculine.

“Straight Acting” is a controversial and deeply divisive topic, especially among gay/bisexual men where femininity is seen as weakness. Society divides us into gender roles and any variation from it is seen as taboo. This goes back to our earlier discussion on Gay Assimilationists versus Queer Liberationists. Some may see trying to fit in as a good thing, while others may see this as a false attempt to deny ones true identity. Others may feel it is essential for safety and security purposes to cover up their identity.

Should I try to blend in? Well, I’ve tried to “masculinise” myself to a great extent by learning from a male friend “how to walk properly like a man.” But of course, there’s still the issue of my becoming very animated – and subsequently effeminate – when I get excited while having an interesting intellectual debate or discussion. But I keep trying anyway :-)

This is perhaps the last frank blog post I can write about sexual rights in Maldives: the Religious Unity Regulations are now pending with Ibra, and I don’t expect much good to come out of it when it is published in the Government Gazette next week becoming law, since as I pointed out earlier, the spirit of this Adhaalath-backed Regulations is to stifle criticism of Wahhabism only, and protect only Wahhabism, and establish, like in Iran, a Supreme Islamic Council whose head will become the Ayatollah (Spiritual Leader) to whom even President Mohamed Nasheed will be required to answer by law. In other words, mark my words, these Regulations when passed next week, will officially make Maldives a theocracy.

Already, “thanks” to DhiTV, I’m now supposedly very “famous” as the “gay rights champion of Maldives” as the homophobic Dhivehi Post and Himeyn-Ingilaab love to point out.

Ever since DhiTV’s mischief – by unfairly claiming I was behind an anonymous letter on homosexual rights published on Minivan News site which I haven’t even read to date – and other anonymous Wahhabi propaganda, a lot of people ask me directly (and also I came to know that they ask people who are my friends or who have been in contact with me through cyberspace) whether I am gay!

It amuses me. Why are all these people interested in my sexuality?… unless perhaps they want to do it with me! I don’t see any other reason why a person should be interested to know about another person’s sexuality unless he/she is interested in “having a fling” with that particular person :-)

Keeping an ambiguous sexuality and playing tricks on your minds will surely entertain me till the day I die but then, let me deflate your balloon: as I said in my earlier blogpost, Thoughts on absolutism – the virus of Maldivian minds, my background life story is that, my family feared that I would go “astray” by going into drugs and sex, so it was only in grade 8 that I was allowed to go out of home and allowed to make friends (either male or female).

Never mind that at that time, at Majeediyya, it was only a boys’ school and our fellow female counterparts were kept sex-segregated — at the girls-only Aminiya school. So, the key definitive years of adolescence and teenage were “lost” to me and I grew up “socially and culturally illiterate and disabled” (not autistic) and couldn’t easily relate to other human beings because I didn’t know “normal behavior” like how to “hang out, engage in idle talk” etc. In fact, if you know me even now, I don’t normally “tick” with other people unless there is an intellectually stimulating discussion going on – to which I feel comfortable in contributing by engaging in conversation. It just “doesn’t come to me” how to relate to other people and bond with them although socially I may be outgoing but I think, to be honest, that is also an act and performance just to be nice to people and to observe society’s expected norms and etiquette. To please a hypocritical society, I had to be hypocritical myself. What irony.

I don’t want to be as explicit as Azazel or even the “harmless” Warm Pixels, who recently is not proving to be as innocent as he earlier seemed and has now curiously decided to become more explicit, complete with sentences such as, “I don’t know how long it lasted, but yes, after a while, he rolled off of me, and there was a pop as his gigantic glans came out” – for artistic or dramatic effect, I’m not sure. 

Curiously, he also seems to have disabled the “Adult Content Warning” function but then again I also have always felt that such cautionary notices are redundant because parents are expected to first check the content of websites before allowing their under-aged children access to such content. In fact, since the Internet has so many anonymous and irresponsible explicit sites, I think all parents should consider the “Adult Content Warning” from the moment their computers are logged onto the Internet. It is the parents’ responsibility to censor content, not the government’s or the state’s. Parents should start acting more as responsible parents the moment you decide to have children.

I am saying this because the first (and homophobic) anonymous commentator to that blogpost of Warm Pixels made the following comment:

Pls put up a disclaimer to this website. Children might accidentally enter this filthy hole of sewage and germs. What if they ask about this website from their parents?? How are we supposed to answer?? So keep your pride and ur sin-boasting to yourself and leave us normal people alone!

May Allah show u the straight path (if not, may you rot in the Fire) 

But as this is probably the last explicit blogpost I will write about the issue of sexuality and gender identity in Maldives, I would like to reiterate again that since I haven’t still properly slept with a person (of either gender), I’m not sure what my sexuality is. So, I’m neither gay nor bi nor hetero nor asexual or whatever else.

But, for the largely heterosexual and bisexual audience out there, who seem to be continuously pestering my friends by continuing to make “informal inquiries” about my sexuality, let me say that, yes, I’m stimulated by visuals of vaginas and breasts and I generally watch hetero porn :-) My favorite part of the female body is the neck line and I like fine wavy straight hair on women (now you know why I hate the buruga! This picture of Kylie Minogue should give an idea of “my type” of female heh heh):

Now that we are all clear about my sexuality, or lack thereof, I hope people (both male and female) will stay out of it! The last five years has been hell for me approached by all kinds of closeted people: gays who want to experiment and then be off for good; straight girls who want to experiment what it is like to have sex with an effeminate or gay man, etc, etc.

No sex for me ever. I’m so very very tired living in this dazed and confused society:

I’ve decided not to make new Maldivian friends, male or female. And from the already existing network of friends and acquaintances, I have decided to openly ignore people (men and women) who show signs of homophobia (though they may not be repressed gays themselves) because I find their curious and queer looks and stares at me as unnecessary irritation.

These are my disturbing but earnest thoughts about the reality of sexual identities in Maldives small society where everybody is related to one another. If you want to humor yourself, you could read my close friend DCJ’s sarcastic take on sexuality (and especially homosexuality) in Maldives, from his blogpost, If football is gay.

One word of cautionary advice to all well-meaning siblings: if you have a sibling (brother or sister) or cousin (male or female), for example, whose sexuality you are not sure about, do not express your “inherent phobia” and do not talk and belittle gay or transvestite or other gender or sexuality people in order to make your sibling feel that it is only desirable to be strictly heterosexual and you become a less human being for being gay or lesbian or bi, etc.

I say inherent phobia because I believe that, like racism, it is just another natural in-built defence mechanism naturally inherent in all of us — a survival instinct playing in the form of fear that is created towards the Strange, the Unknown, the Unpleasant and most importantly, the Unexplained.

So, like how we suppress our racism from surfacing though everybody knows it is inherent in us (due to our fears of people of races that are not us), people should now learn to expect that heterosexual people will naturally harbor disgust and phobias against gays or people of other genders and sexualities. So refrain from expressing your disgust because we already know you disgust it. The least you could do is be nice about it and not express it outright when we are around.

Because words do hurt. More than you can ever know because you happen to be “lucky” to have been born to the dominant heterosexual majority of the society. 

Even though I need not rudely point out that you do not have the right to belittle us, if you claim to be the humane human being you are, then at least have the courtesy of keeping your disgust and homophobia inside yourselves. 

Because when our own siblings belittle gays, if we are gay, we always live in constant fear, of giving out “bad (gay/effeminate) vibes” and we always tend to think that if you, my siblings, found out that I was gay or something whatsoever other, I would be less of a “man” and also less of a human being, because you never seem to tire yourself out pointing out the “fact” that sex is “only” meant for reproduction although science has shown that sex have multiple purposes. Of course you can access such material on the Internet, but in order to plug in your own insecurities, and in order to belong to the “herd”, you deliberately disregarded my emotions and feelings and forced my sexuality to get stunted even before it could blossom.

Having liberal siblings and cousins who not only tolerate but accept and promote their gay friends’ lifestyles, this is a major development and progress in Maldives’ human rights record. Now the only step would be for these well-meaning liberal friends to make sure that their own siblings and cousins have no fear to be anything other than themselves. Live and let live. Some of us Maldivians do believe that their is no afterlife and that this is the only life they get in the Sea of Eternal Time, so, even if you chose to be a believer, let these unbelieving sisters and brothers have the happiness they think (rather than you think) will make them happy in this life which they believe to be short and the only one they’ll ever get. It is their right and let it be. 

So, with this impending disaster called a Religious Unity Regulation, I’ve decided to become a total recluse. No friends. Just my PC and work to support myself financially and other harmless entertainment like going to the sea. Since I’m willing to go to the extent of not even making eye contact with you guys and gals because obviously you feel uncomfortable by a potential “effeminate” or “gay” gaze on you might transform yourself into anhendhula firihenkulhin (effeminate gays) or firihendhulha thagarin (masculine lesbians) or worse, you feel you might be seduced by such effeminate gays, I guess this saves you guys and gals from much trouble too ‘cos from now on you don’t have to deal with me in any way because I’m going to leave everyone in peace. Not even eye contact I promise.

Goodbye cruel world.

But of course, I’m not going to commit suicide. In 3 years at the maximum, I will leave this hellhole called Maldives and I will sit rather far far away, enjoying observing you confused Kasauti people mess up your no-lives and fuck up this terminally ill society. There is no saving this Maldives. Better make the exit while you can. Your beloved liberal and tolerant Anni will not be here forever.

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Posted in: Politics / Religion,Society

A Press Release to Minivan News

Saturday, 11th December 2010 

The International Human Rights Day was marked with a silent sit-together by a young group of Maldivians at the Artificial Beach stage starting at 5 PM on Friday, 10th December 2010. 

Displaying a stark contrast to the loud truck and motorcycle cavalcade of religious conservatives who were protesting against Israeli doctors around the same time by announcing anti-Semitic messages through loud speakers, the youth that participated in the sit-down took a decidedly fresh approach towards protest.

The group of 30 young men and women sat down at the artificial beach stage in protest against religious extremism. The silent sit-together, conspicuous by the absence of any banners, megaphones, or sloganeering, aimed to send the message that youth are against religious extremism and supported Human Rights, Tolerance and Dignity for all humans, while also simultaneously laying emphasis on the peaceful nature of their protest. 

The participating youth stated that their aim is to start a popular, nationwide grassroots movement against religious extremism.

The hour-long sit down was followed by a Human Rights solidarity walk along Majeedhee Magu. The walk was met with no resistance, and passed off peacefully.

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Posted in: Politics / Religion,Society

CCHDC estimates 18-39 HIV patients in Maldives

MALE, December 1 (HNS) – Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) has put the estimated number of HIV patients in the Maldives to 18-39.

A CCHDC press release said only three out of the 14 HIV patients discovered in the Maldives are alive.

The press release said a survey conducted in 2008 shows that actions that promote AIDS such as unsafe sex and needle sharing are increasing rapidly in the Maldives.

A 2009 report shows that over 33 million AIDS patients live in the world and some of the Asian countries Maldivians often visit are within the high-risk zones.

“Therefore, one of the main reasons of marking AIDS day is to create awareness about the status of the disease, the methods by which it spreads, and identifying viable methods with which to fight it,” the press release read.

This year’s AIDS Day slogan is “Universal Access and Human Rights.”

Despite the natural immunity against HIV found in a minority of people, no feasible cure has yet been found for the fatal disease. Awareness programs with the help of media are being carried out in the Maldives to mark the day.

Via Haveeru

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Posted in: Health / HIV

World AIDS Day celebrated in the Maldives

Press Release via UNDP Maldives

01-Dec-2010

Speech by the UNDP Resident Representative on World AIDS Day 1st December 2010, SHE Building.

Executive Committee Members, Executive Management team and Staff of Society for Health Education
Government officials
Distinguished Invitees
Colleagues from the UN system

Assalaam Alaikum and good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to open the Voluntary Counselling Testing Centre for the expatriate community in the Maldives.

For the first time in the country, this venture is opening the avenue for the expatriate community to access a service of this kind and I would like to congratulate the Society for Health Education and the National AIDS Programme for jointly working towards this initiative.

The opening of this Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre, goes hand in hand with the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day, 'Universal Access and Human Rights', which reminds us of the critical importance of both in effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

World AIDS Day is about paying respect. Respect to the 1.8 million people who have died of AIDS. Respect to the 33.3 million people living with HIV. Respect to the more than 5 million who lack access to lifesaving treatment. Respect for those who suffer stigma and discrimination because they live with HIV.

But it is also a day to celebrate, because around the world, we see evidence that people are living positively with HIV. As treatment improves and battles against stigma and discrimination are won, people living with HIV are able to regain their roles as active, productive members of their community, as healthy parents and children, and as champions for the AIDS movement.

The Maldives has a low prevalence of HIV. This does not mean the country is without risk. There are several vulnerability factors related to HIV such as migration, including internal migration, coupled with an active young population. HIV prevention interventions are needed for these populations along with current target groups.

The Voluntary Counselling Testing Centre, therefore comes at an opportune time. This is about the rights of a group of people. The protection of human rights is fundamental to combating the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. By promoting individual human rights, new infections can be prevented and people living with HIV can live free from discrimination.

Global leaders have pledged to work towards universal access to HIV and AIDS and treatment, prevention and care and recognize these as fundamental human rights. Valuable progress has been made in increasing access to HIV and AIDS services, yet greater commitment is needed around the world if the goal of universal access is to be achieved.

Millions of people continue to be infected with HIV every year. In low- and middle-income countries, less than half of those in need of antiretroviral therapy are receiving it, and too many do not have access to adequate care services.

As UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said in her message on World AIDS Day, “timely access to HIV-related treatment demonstrably extends lives.”

Today we are witnessing a good first step in this process in the Maldives. On behalf of the UN, I would like to thank the Government of Maldives and the National AIDS Programme, for granting us the opportunity to work with you towards addressing and reducing the risk of HIV and AIDS in the Maldives.

HIV and Substance Abuse is one of the key areas that the UN will continue to support in the next 5 years. As we move forward with an effective response to HIV programming in the country, and look for innovative ways to support people to advocate for and access the services they need, I cannot stress enough on the important role of the partners, including civil society, in this process.

In conclusion, let what we do today be a foundation to write the history of AIDS in the country. From today, we should reject all excuses for failure and bond together in a wedge of tolerance, to achieve our goal and reaffirm our commitment to services which are universally accessible and based on a human rights approach.

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Posted in: Health / HIV

Response to the UN’s Decision to Remove Sexual Orientation from the Resolution on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

Association of British Muslims calls on the UN General Assembly to reverse its vote on the exclusion of sexual orientation from the Resolution on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

On 16th November 2010, the United Nations’ General Assembly’s Third Committee voted to amend a previous resolution of the General Assembly that had outlawed extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

This resolution is reviewed every two years, and in 2008 it had been amended to mention specifically those killings that take place because of the sexual orientation of the victims. The 16th November vote removed that special mention.

The Association of British Muslims views this decision with considerable concern. It is the duty of the UN’s Human Rights Committee to uphold the rule of law, so it should vigorously oppose any extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions by whatever party and for whatever reasons.

It should also act to preserve the human rights of all vulnerable communities.

Removing this clause at this time will send quite the wrong signal to those regimes that indulge in these barbaric practices, implying as it does that United Nations is no longer concerned at the maltreatment of people because of their sexual orientation or considers it to be a lesser matter.

Referring to the Nazis, Paster Martin Niemoller once wrote, ‘First they came…’. Have we not learned anything since the tragedies of World War 2? Niemoller started out by saying, ‘First they came for the communist’s, and I did not speak out, because I was not a communist’ Then, the socialists, trade unionists, Jews and other groups until finally he writes, ‘Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me’.

The Committee vote is to be ratified in December. The Association of British Muslims calls on member states of the General Assembly not to endorse the decision of its Third Committee, and to reinstate the deleted clause.”

Shaykh David Rosser Owen, Amir/President of AOBM
Dan Littauer, Human Rights and Press Relations Coordinator of AOBM
Mohammed Abbasi, Strategy Director of AOBM
Paul S. Armstrong, Director for Interfaith and Interpolitical Dialogue of AOBM
Adeel Rahman, Education Coordinator of AOBM

Contact: press@aobm.org

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Posted in: Report

Report on The Maldives Islands: 9 Session of the Universal Periodic Review – November 2010

 Via Google Docs

This report is submitted by: The Maldives Women Coalition - MWC 1 and The Sexual
Rights Initiative 2 . This report deals with sexual rights in Maldives and makes references
specifically to the situation of young men and women and cultural norms/beliefs about
gender/sexuality that lead to human rights violations, including discrimination, domestic and
sexual violence, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT).

A. Background

1. The Maldives islands have been populated as early as historical records are available.
Estimates based on archaeology and linguistics concludes that the islands were populated
around 2,500 years ago if not earlier. Islam was introduced to the Maldives in the 12th
century, and in 1155 the whole nation was converted after the decree of the king who took the
title of sultan. Old temples were demolished and mosques built on their foundations. Islamic
law and moral codes were imposed upon the population much later, mainly in this century.

B. The Legal Framework

2. The Maldivian legal system is based on shari’ab law 3 . Personal law which includes family
and inheritance laws are exclusively governed by shari’ab law. Other laws such as criminal
law, contracts, company law etc, are governed by laws enacted by parliament based on
sharia’ab law. The Legislative sources are based on the Constitution of the Republic of
Maldives, Laws enacted by Parliament, Statutory instruments (Rules and Regulations of the
various government authorities) 4

3. The administration of Justice is the responsibility of the various courts under the ministry
of justice and the High Court of Maldives. There is a court in each island which hears
criminal, juvenile, family as well as civil cases. Criminal cases are heard in the criminal court,
while civil cases are heard in the civil court. The High Court of Maldives has the authority to
hear any of the cases heard in the lower courts if it considers it to be in the interests of justices
that the case be heard 5

Main Issues

C. Cultural norms/beliefs about gender/sexuality

4 Maldivian state imposes restrictions to Human Rights in the name of Islam. Human rights
and fundamental freedoms are considered as a western norm and its universality denounced.

5. Divorce is available to men and women, but husbands may divorce more easily if the
decision is not mutual. Women suffer greater losses in divorce than men do, because of their
financial dependence on their husbands. Women often stay in the homes of their ex-husbands
until they remarry. Divorced women and their children are particularly economically
vulnerable and divorced women have limited choices to improve their situation apart from
remarrying. The effect on women and children of being forced to continue residence with an
estranged husband or father has not been closely addressed.

6. A Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim man whereas Muslim men are
allowed to marry non-Muslim women 6 . With the object of protecting morality and preventing
sexual anarchy, women are expected to cover their whole bodies bar, their faces and their
hands up to their wrists. Women can have no contact with men to whom they are not related
without the presence of a male relative.

7. Maldives women had the freedom to dress according to indigenous norms and give their
children Divehi language names. They also had the freedom to be governed by female rulers.
One by one, these indigenous freedoms were violated by the mullahs. It looks increasingly
likely that very soon every Maldive women would be obliged into the Islamic head-dress
called hijab by decree. 7

8. Girls and boys are separated from the very beginning in schools. In the base of the laws of
Maldives, women are the source of corruption in the community and the cause of the
deviation of men 8 . By these crimes they are controlled and punished from the early childhood
and during all their life 9

9. Girls are under enormous pressure in school as well as in society. This deprives them of
free movement, from playing freely, and from happily participating in social activities. The
schools authorities spy on girls to see if they wear make up, to hear if they talk about boys or
if they carry pictures of stars. Pupils are even intimidated into spying on their parents and to
report to the school authorities about their parents’ life style and whether their female
relatives offend against Islamic rules at home. This has produced a system of inquisition in
schools. The environment is full of repression and control, the control of children’s minds and
behaviour. Friendship between girls and boys is forbidden, considered a sin and punishable.
Girls are under strict scrutiny. Their talking, walking, laughing, dressing and movements are
controlled and carefully monitored. Teachers and principals punish girls physically and
psychologically if the veil is not worn properly even at play.

D. Female discrimination

10. Culture dictates a certain level of separation of men and women in the
workplace. Usually, women are found in lower-paying positions, such as clerical work,
agriculture, and service jobs in the tourist sector. Maldives has experienced rapid economic growth and modernization over the past decade, but many women benefit less from this
growth, because some traditional beliefs conflict with women’s free participation in the
economic market.10

11. In connection with sex roles and stereotyping, the traditional cultural values associate
women mainly with domestic work and childcare, and there are limited opportunities for
women to work outside the home. 11

12. Regarding the role of women in political and public life, women have the right to vote in
all elections and are eligible for candidature to elected bodies and all public positions except
that of head of State. Although women are entitles to stand as candidates for the National
Assembly, the percentage of women candidates is small. Only three out of the 50 members of
the National Assembly are female. In the absence of constitutional barriers to women’s
participation in decision-making positions, the main constraint of women’s access to these
positions is the deeply rooted gender subordination.

E. Domestic and sexual violence

13. The women of Maldives face violence in various forms within their homes, in public
space, in the workplace, and within the community in general. Generally is observed that
these kinds of problems are not denounced and tend to kept in secret because women believe
that these issues should remain in the family. It may be difficult for them to talk to someone
because their husband may be very controlling. Maldivian government tries to hide these
issues believing that it is a family problem that should be dealt within the private sphere.

14. A married woman must have sex whenever the husband wishes 12 . A man can easily
divorce a woman by pronouncing that he is divorcing her three times. Polygamy with up to
four wives is permitted, and temporary marriage is allowed whereby a man can have access to
an unlimited number of women. Men are also permitted concubines and female slaves. No
specific definition of rape exists and the law does not extend to recognize marital rape.

15. As traditional practices, a man is ordered to beat his wife if she doesn't obey him. The
marriage with young girls who have not reached puberty is common practice.

16. The Maldive Law is totally opposed to freedom of dressing – for women. This is an
obvious and enormous barrier to the personal development of girls and women; going against
their autonomy, freedom of expression and exercise of their sexuality. Under Islamic law,
women have no choice about their looking and are imprisoned behind veils under the
justification that otherwise men cannot trust that they will control their sexual impulses. On
the pretext of protecting their honor, women are kept locked up, isolated and unable to enjoy a
full life and to develop their potential 13 .

17. Children grow learning that the main duty of women is to take care of the home and
children. Women are pictured only as mothers and housekeepers. The transmission of
stereotypical gender roles is an essential element of school education. In this way, oppression
of women by men and male domination are perpetuated and naturalized in our culture. In
school, children are taught that the traditional male–female gender roles, women’s
segregation, and sexual apartheid are a desirable state for women in society. They also learn
that women are inferior to and equal to only half of a man, that women belong to men, that
men have the right to punish their wives if they do not obey them, that women constitute a
potential source of corruption in society so the hijab must be imposed on them. They are
taught that the veil is the legitimate physical border of a woman’s existence in society to
protect men and the community from any possible moral and social danger and the
devastation they may cause.

18. Child sexual abuse is allowed by Islamic Law 14 . A Muslim man can have sex with a baby
girl without consequences. This also means that non-Muslim pedophiles can convert to Islam
and their illegal behaviors get legal.

F. LGBT Rights

19. Consensual acts between adults of the same sex is illegal in the Maldives under the
Sharia 15 . Punishment for adults is 19-39 lashes and one to three years banishment or jail time.
A serious issue of concern is that consensual acts between adults receive almost the same
punishment as acts between an adult and a minor. 16 The penalty for an adult engaging in
same-sex relations with someone younger than 16 is 19-39 lashes and three to six years
banishment or jail time. Sexual acts between men and between women are not regulated by
the Penal Code, but are prohibited by Islamic Sharia law, applicable to Maldives along with
civil law, with penalties decided by Islamic courts. The punishment for women is house arrest
for nine months to one year. There have been reports of women being sentenced to a
whipping as well for lesbian acts.

G. Recommendations

The government of Maldives should:

20. Take the necessary steps –including legislation- to stop child sexual abuse and other forms
of sexual violence and create an independent judiciary body to deal with independent and
impartial investigations on these issues, and dispose punishment to perpetrators and redress to
victims.

21. Ensure that all children, particularly girls, enjoy fully the right to such measures of
protection as are required by their status as minors, following the international standards.

22. Inform victims of sexual violence and their families about their rights and judicial
proceedings, offer counseling to women and child victims through trained staff, and avoid re-
traumatizing or stigmatizing victims during the judicial process.

23. Take appropriate action to stop female discrimination, on the basis of gender, sex and
marital status, introduce provisions by amending the Nationality Law which discriminate on
the basis of gender, religion, sex or status and violate the right to equality of spouses.

24. Prohibit any law, custom, or tradition that undermines women's dignity, welfare, interest,
and autonomy; the definition of equality should be incorporated into the draft law on
women’s rights 17 as well as in the Constitution to ensure compliance with international
human rights standards, including gender-neutral statutes related to adultery and premarital
sex.

25. Guarantee women's right to equal treatment with men, including equal rights to inherit,
has access to, and control property.

26.Continue to address, through radio, press and other media, support for women's and girls'
rights to equality in all aspects of their public and private lives, including freedom from cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment.

27. Investigate and prosecute persons who threaten to harm female family members to
dishonoring the family; and implement recruiting and training programmes for female police
officers to investigate crimes of domestic violence, commissioning experts in this area in
order to modify police attitudes and teach relevant skills.

28. Create adequate and accessible shelters for victims of domestic violence, especially for
women who have been victims of "honor" crimes or who are at risk of such violence,
including their children.

-end-

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Posted in: Report

Sexual orientation removed from UN resolution condemning unjustified executions

by International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission

The amendment narrowly passed 79-70 reversing the 2008 declaration that included an explicit reference to killings committed because of the victims' sexual orientation. IGLHRC reports.

The IGLHRC issued a statement on Nov 17, 2010:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and ARC International are deeply disappointed with yesterday’s vote in the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly to remove a reference to sexual orientation from a resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The resolution urges States to protect the right to life of all people, including by calling on states to investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds. For the past 10 years, the resolution has included sexual orientation in the list of discriminatory grounds on which killings are often based.

The removed reference was originally contained in a non-exhaustive list in the resolution highlighting the many groups of people that are particularly targeted by killings - including persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, persons acting as human rights defenders (such as lawyers, journalists or demonstrators) as well as street children and members of indigenous communities. Mentioning sexual orientation as a basis on which people are targeted for killing highlights a situation in which particular vigilance is required in order for all people to be afforded equal protection.

The amendment removing the reference to sexual orientation was sponsored by Benin on behalf of the African Group in the UN General Assembly and was adopted with 79 votes in favor, 70 against, 17 abstentions and 26 absent.

"This vote is a dangerous and disturbing development,” said Cary Alan Johnson, Executive Director of IGLHRC. “It essentially removes the important recognition of the particular vulnerability faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people - a recognition that is crucial at a time when 76 countries around the world criminalize homosexuality, five consider it a capital crime, and countries like Uganda are considering adding the death penalty to their laws criminalizing homosexuality."

This decision in the General Assembly flies in the face of the overwhelming evidence that people are routinely killed around the world because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and renders these killings invisible or unimportant. The Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions has highlighted documented cases of extrajudicial killings on the grounds of sexual orientation including individuals facing the death penalty for consensual same-sex conduct; individuals tortured to death by State actors because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation; paramilitary groups killing individuals because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation as part of “social cleansing” campaigns; individuals murdered by police officers with impunity because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation; and States failing to investigate hate crimes and killings of persons because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

"It is a matter of great shame that the responsible Committee of the United Nations General Assembly failed in its responsibility to explicitly condemn well-documented killings based on sexual orientation," said John Fisher, Co-Director of ARC international. "The credibility of the United Nations requires protection of all persons from violations of their fundamental human rights, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. We thank those States which supported the inclusion of sexual orientation in the text, and will redouble our collective efforts to ensure that Member States of the United Nations maintain the standards they have sworn to uphold."

The amendment runs counter to other positive developments in UN and regional human rights systems where there is increased recognition of the need for protection from discrimination regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. At a September 2010 panel held in conjunction with a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon unequivocally recognized "the particular vulnerability of individuals who face criminal sanctions, including imprisonment and in some cases the death penalty, on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity."

Sixty-eight countries have also signed a joint statement in the UN General Assembly on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity which calls for an end to "human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity … in particular the use of the death penalty on this ground [and] extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions."

IGLHRC and ARC International urge all States, regardless of their vote on this amendment, to sign the UNGA joint statement affirming support of the human rights of all people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity and to continue in efforts to decriminalize same-sex conduct and to end other discrimination, including violence, on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The votes to amend the resolution were as follows:

In favor of the amendment to remove sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (79):

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brunei Dar-Sala, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Opposed to the amendment to remove sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (70):

Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia (FS), Monaco, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

Abstain (17):

Antigua-Barbuda, Barbados, Belarus, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Fiji, Mauritius, Mongolia, Papau New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Absent (26):

Albania, Bolivia, Central African Republic, Chad, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Marshall Island, Mauritania, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Sao Tome Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Togo, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan

The mission of The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is advancing human rights for everyone, everywhere to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. A non-profit, non-governmental organization, IGLHRC is based in New York, with offices in Cape Town and Buenos Aires. Visit http://www.iglhrc.org for more information.

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Posted in: News

Man sentenced for indecently exposing himself to a minor

By Ahmed Nazeer | November 2nd, 2010 | via Minivan News

The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a man to three years in prison after the court found him guilty of the indecent exposure of his body to a minor in Villingili.

The court identified the offender as Mohamed Saeed, 39.

The Criminal court said the brother of the male victim received information of the incident and reported to police that Saeed was attempting to have sex with the boy inside a guest house named ‘Beach View’ in Villingili.

“When police went to the guest house after receiving the information from the victim’s brother, police attended the scene and saw Saeed standing naked near the bed,’’ said the Criminal Court. “The boy was lying on the bed when the police arrived.’’

The Criminal Court said the victim told the court that Saeed went into the toilet and came out naked.

Saeed told the court that he worked in a cargo ship and came to Male’ for his vacation.

The Court sentenced him according to the ‘Act on special actions against sexual abuse to minors’ section 22[a] and 22[b].

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Posted in: News