From seats to say: are political quotas for Maldivian women delivering real power?

Fathimath Ibrahim Didi served as speaker of the Senate under the First Republic from 1952-54. But despite having a modern constitution, to date there hasn’t been a female speaker of parliament under the new republic.

Post-independence, up until the early-2000s women were mobilised in communities through the established Women’s Development Committees. In recent times, however, participation of women in public office seems to be in decline. In the last parliamentary sitting, only three female MPs were elected.

The Maldives made a landmark reform to local democracy in 2019, imposing quotas with hopes of remedying the issue. The eighth amendment to the Decentralisation Act in 2019 reserved 33 percent of seats in island and city councils for women. 

Aneesa Ahmed is co-founder of the Hope for Women NGO, former deputy speaker of parliament – and the first woman to preside over its sittings in the modern era. She highlights that women have remained sorely under-represented in both public and private sector leadership, with the disparity most significant in elected office. Therefore, the current quota system of reserved seats is much needed: “Until now there have not been any temporary special measures taken to accelerate substantive representation of women in electoral politics.” 

While the quota system is temporary, it is intended to jump-start gender balance across local governance and decision making. And it appears to be having an effect: in the first elections held under the new act in 2021, 389 women won seats out of 981, pushing women’s presence in councils to 40 percent and transforming council chambers across the country for the first time in history. Some analysts argue how the local quota has become the only visible women’s political participation in the Maldives. 

Whilst the reforms increased the number of seats held by women, the surge contrasts starkly with national politics where women’s representation has remained low. 

In parallel, the reforms clarified the role and election of Women’s Development Committees (WDCs), women-only bodies that work alongside councils on community priorities. 

But the question remains whether the past five years brought meaningful change to women’s leadership and local governance. And will the more recent amendments to the Decentralisation Act, as attempts to increase central authority and encroach on local affairs, do away with gains for women altogether?  

According to an assessment by the UNDP in 2024, the amendments of 2019 did exactly what quotas are designed to do – move numbers fast. From historically small cohorts, women now sit in significant numbers on island and city councils nationwide, increasing their visibility. 

“As a result, women have become more visible in the local governance structure, and most women councillors do feel they are well respected in their respective constituencies,” Aneesa points out.

This normalises women’s presence in public decision making, and builds experience for future leaders including potential MPs and ministers.

With more women at the table, issues often under-prioritised in male-dominated bodies – including care infrastructures, protection services, inclusive public spaces, women-led businesses and livelihoods have risen in visibility. 

The quota has enabled broader debate among the public and policy makers on gender equality in politics. Despite the restrictive amendments proposed to the Decentralisation Act, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has proposed raising the quota to 40 percent. 

Even if not yet enacted, these proposals do suggest the quota has agenda-setting power. According to observations by Transparency Maldives, the local council elections of 2021 generated some practical lessons on candidate recruitment and post-election orientation. 

Programmes such as UNDP’s "practice parliament" for women and youth also highlighted a learning loop, improving future election integrity and onboarding of newly-elected women. 

However, the debate remains whether women really need "practice" to lead in the parliament when mostly men already have the agenda-setting power.

Quota-driven gains have not automatically translated into political influence, especially for women with additional vulnerabilities, from low-income backgrounds, single mothers and those with disabilities.

The argument against quotas also suggests that representation without meaning is an act of tokenism, without real political influence or power. 

Thus, whilst the numbers of women in councils are up, the decision-making power still remains uneven. Despite direct elections and a clearer statutory footing, the WDCs often lack formal decision-making powers, stable funding and direct control over priority sectors in island communities.

“Yes, we are elected and we do get a seat at the table, but when it comes to policies and decision making...we do not get much of a say,” says one female councillor. “[But for] admin and logistics, planning special haflaas (functions or gatherings) – they finally see us." 

In practice, female participation can be advisory with limited leverage, while stakeholders frequently operate without meaningful coordination with councils or WDCs. No woman has yet presided over a local council in any constituency. To date, Hawwa Abdul Azeez from the Faafu Atoll Council is the only woman to hold the presidency in a local atoll council. 

Quotas may create reserved seats but political parties and local power brokers still decide who gets endorsed, mentored – and most importantly, resourced. 

Findings stress that without sustained investment, training, access to campaign finances and cross-party women’s networks, participation narrows to a small pool of candidates, which risks stagnation.

Where party support is thin, women candidates shoulder higher personal costs. Compounding this are the ever-present attitudes, stereotypes and online harassment targeting women.

Indeed, these social dynamics do not disappear with a legal quota and can erode retention and  re-election unless actively addressed. 

Some councillors highlight that many community members still believe women are not capable of undertaking certain responsibilities. Some have also upheld the belief that women should stay home and focus on household tasks, leaning on religious arguments that prevent women from seeking elected positions. 

In addition, women assert that political parties only mobilise them for street activism, but have thus far made no effort to promote women’s inclusion and participation in leadership positions or change the community’s perception of women in politics.

Representation should also lead to influence. This means guaranteeing female councillors meaningful committee roles, chair-ships, budget oversight and monitoring – not just head counts.

The Local Government Authority (LGA) and the councils themselves should strengthen the mandates of WDCs and improve financing. Mechanisms can be introduced to facilitate progress in recent amendments so that WDCs have predictable budgets, clear lines to propose and co-decide. 

Women councillors should also have formal seats in council planning processes, especially for land use, tourism and public safety. Regular joint sessions of councils and WDCs with published minutes and followups can move advisory inputs into accountable action. 

In tandem with quotas parties should encourage and adopt internal targets for women’s nominations beyond the reserved seats. This includes nominations for leadership positions such as the president or vice president of the council. 

Equal access to campaign finances and media, with cross-party women’s caucuses at local level can also support good community-level governance. 

On top of the ongoing leadership and technical training, robust anti-harassment protocols including digital safety need to be implemented, lowering the participation penalty many women currently face. 

Quality gender-desegregated data and indicators not only make visible the number of women in governance, but also can keep the system honest. 

This means tracking who speaks, who proposes and who gets budget approved, while publishing it at island or atoll level every quarter. 

Data dissemination and analysis also needs to be timely, aligned with windows of opportunity in policy formulation and implementation. 

Finally, the numbers need to be drawn on in party manifestos and campaigns, which can play a large role in shaping policy making. 

From ruling Rehendhis to quotas for female political participation, the current system for women in local councils is the country’s most consequential gender equality reform in the past decade. 

Whether this has turned into power remains debatable. Public discussions on lifting the quota to 40 percent and applying a similar quota to parliamentary seats does suggest an appetite for progress, despite an overall tightening of control over local councils by the central government.

“Women’s participation is critical for a well functioning democracy. Structural barriers like the entrenched patriarchal norms and gender-based violence that hinder women’s political rights have to be eliminated,” says Aneesa. 

“Stereotypes in the media which perpetuate the idea that women are home makers or caregivers and hence, less legitimate and less capable as leaders – have to be stopped.” 

With continued party reforms and better engagement with women in public life, the Maldives can convert its numerical success into tangible gains for communities – and setting a regional benchmark for inclusive local governance.