Feature Comment

How much is your MP worth?

The Haamakurey or “Make it Public” campaign appears to be gaining traction with eight of the 85-member parliament releasing financial disclosure forms. The campaign has exposed serious loopholes in current practices, but has also triggered a backlash from MPs of both the ruling and opposition parties.

Save Our Waves: Why we protest

A surf break is not like any other play ground. It is a living playground. It is constantly changing. Every surf break has a personality and so many moods, writes Ahmed Rifaee Abdul Sattar, a Maldivian surfer. “We, the surfers at Raalhugandu are facing the destruction of our surf break. Many of us consider the place their home. “

“Who checks if the money they receive is legitimate?” – Translation of President Yameen’s Feb 24 speech

President Abdulla Yameen attempted to shrug off responsibility for the Maldives’ biggest ever corruption scandal, by claiming he was not aware “charity” to MPs and ruling party officials came from embezzled millions.

Ex Auditor General weighs in on Maldives’ biggest corruption scandal

Full transcript of former Auditor General Niyaz’s interview detailing the extent of complicity by state officials, including President Yameen and MPs, in the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers.

Duplicitous attacks on the Maldives

In an op-ed for the Washington Times, President Abdulla Yameen accused former President Mohamed Nasheed and his heavyweight international lawyers of “trash-talking the Maldives” and attempting to portray the country as “a banana republic.”

A trial by media: misinterpretations, contradictions and half-truths in the case of Mohamed Nasheed

The international ‘popular’ trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed has fallen into a spiral of oversimplifications and selective narratives that leads to contradictions, writes PPM MP Dr Abdulla Khaleel. “The real motivation behind their call for sanctions is not the liberation of the former President, but a governmental change, which would turn the sanctions illegal and contrary to the principle of sovereignty.”

False hopes: the great bridge of Malé

Without political stability and the will to address pervasive social issues, including unemployment, gang violence and environmental degradation, the Malé bridge and the youth city will only be monuments to the government’s failure to address the real problems, writes Fathimath Isha.

Violence against women has become our culture

The conversation around the death of a Thinadhoo woman from marital rape injuries focused on her “silence,” her action or inaction. But it was in fact duty bearers and the community who were silent, argues Humaidha Abdul Ghafoor.

To bolster rights at home, Maldives must speak up for human rights abroad

One of the best ways Maldives can support the global human rights movement is by voting to extend the UN mandate for a special rapporteur for Iran, writes Iranian journalist Roozbeh Mirebrahimi.

The Violent Lives of Maldivian Women

A 35-year-old victim of marital rape from the island of Thinadhoo died last night while undergoing treatment for severe injuries. Why is violence against women so prevalent in an Islamic society and how can we prevent it? asks the Gender Advocacy Working Group.

“This attack on me is, first and foremost, personal,” says Cadman

Responding to allegations of pitching the government and the opposition, Cadman writes: “Supporters of the former President need to make as much noise in public and in the press as possible because the activities of which he is accused are so hard to contest in court, not least when he has confirmed them in media interviews on at least two occasions.”

China’s short-term affair with Yameen

The Maldives is not China, where predictability and stability can be achieved in a relatively subdued population. If China wants predictability, stability, and sustainability for its interests in the Maldives, it must support democracy, not complex authoritarianism, argues Hassan Hameed.

Rilwan’s disappearance: Why we accuse the government of negligence

500 days after our brother’s disappearance, the “Yageen [certain] team” have failed to conduct a thorough investigation. This is why we are forced to use words such as “failure,” “negligence,” and “atrocity,” writes Fathimath Shehenaz.

Malé and its discontents

“In many ways, Malé is a thoroughly modern city, living out all of modernity’s problems (with a few of its pleasures) in a microcosm, fighting to keep its head above water on five square kilometres of submerging land. What Malé is today is shaped by the daily struggles, victories and defeats of its hundred and fifty thousand residents from everywhere in the Maldives,” writes Dr Azra Naseem.

I fear for myself and the future of Maldives: former vice president

“In truth, President Yameen and I have been the victims of a despicable conspiracy, launched, I believe, by my political foes in and outside the Cabinet. I believe the speedboat incident was staged, in order to frame me,” writes former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb from prison.

Brand Maldives: the paradox

If fans of brand Nike are concerned with the working conditions at factories in Bangladesh, rich tourists who travel to the Maldives must surely ask themselves how ethical is it is for them to support an industry that siphons off the riches earned by exploiting the natural beauty of these of islands with just a minute percentage of it trickling down to the average Maldivian, writes Hassan Saeed.

Maldives in South Asia: Let’s talk about Saudis

“There is a little bit of each other in all South Asian countries but, somewhere along the way, Maldives has been somehow set apart and aside from its neighbours. Their cultural story is not among the threads with which the common South Asian identity is commonly woven today,” writes Dr Azra Naseem.

Maldives’ doctors tackle treating gender violence

Imaginary harbours

The fisher people of Gaafaru have been waiting on harbour repairs for a decade. Why do promised development projects never materialize?

Legal fiascos – why some officials are never penalized

The civil court last week ordered exorbitant compensation for two officials sacked over allegations of sexual abuse. One is a policeman, and other is a top diplomat. Why was the state unable to take action?