Speaking to the House of Parliament during a meeting on November 2, Dr Faizal cited objections within the country to the appointment of women to senior posts in the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM). She also highlighted the practice of preaching against the vaccination of children.

Dr Faizal also stated that she believed that although both the government and the current leadership of the opposition were committed to democracy, the greatest threat to democracy “lies in growing religious extremism.”

The meeting, organised by the All Party Group on third world democracy in collaboration with the UK parliament’s All Party Maldives group and assisted by the Maldives High Commission, was chaired by David Anderson MP. Speakers included Dr Faizal, Chair of the UK-Maldives All Party Parliamentary Group MP David Amess, Chair of the Commonwealth Journalists Association Rita Payne, journalist Mark Seddon, Chair of Third World Solidarity Mushtaq Lasharie, and Yameen Shahid, a member of the Maldivian student community and son of the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid.

Others present were Sir Ivan Lawrence, MP Gary Streeter, members of the Maldives High Commission, Friends of Maldives founder David Hardingham, Paul Moorcraft, Karen Lumley from the Conservative Party, BBC journalist Adam Mynott and Islamic scholar Idris Tawfiq.

Representing young people in the Maldives, Yameen highlighted the need for education on democracy and called for Maldivian politicians to work together and serve the best interests of the people.

Yameen also accused the police of using excessive force towards drug users in the Maldives, claiming that the future of Maldives was bright as young people took the initiative to solve the drug issues facing the country.

MP David Amess and Mark Seddon called for more support for the young democracy in the Maldives, calling it a “fragile flower” that needs support, “especially from the EU.”

Amess went further, calling for more support from the British Government given the long association between the UK and the Maldives.

Idris Tawfeeq the Islamic Scholar maintained that it was important to support the Maldives without interfering in the internal affairs of the country. He also stressed the importance of young people being involved more in political life.