A New Women’s movement is forming after the Maldives Coup

We thought that the woman will loose the progress gained for gender equality after the coup that was brought by the rich elite with the backing of the police, the military and the extremist religious organizations. Waheed’s first public speech was given to a gender segregated audience that we rarely see in the Maldives. At the same time, another rally was taking place on the other side of the beach which saw thousands of woman march the streets of Male’, calling for Waheed to leave office immediately.

After days of rallying, we marched to the Maldives Human Rights Commission’s office on the 6th of March 2012. On our way back we stopped at the presidents office. The same defense force that refused to confront the police mutineers on the 7th of February did not hesitate to use disproportionate force against peaceful protesters. They continued to use excessive force to silence us. It seems that the voice of the Maldivian woman cannot be suppressed through force or religion anymore. The Women of this country have spoken and are determined to not only be heard but listened as well.