Comments from Minister Nasheed’s Blog Post, “Going after the Pedophiles”

Refer to the the post Minister Nasheed has posted in his blog, titled “Going After the Pedofiles“. Here are some interesting comments I found on the post. This is not a “comment on the comments” as he says. So I am not commenting on any of these comments. Just have a look at the trend.

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what is this consent thing all about.. wether they do it with consent or not, is that the problem. for crying out loud, if its done without marriage its illegal.
these filthy people should not be allowed back to the community, they must be put in an uninhabited island forever.
yeah, there names should be called on the radio and TV.
Posted by Frozen Solid | September 3, 2007 8:56 PM

This is one legislation which is too late and would be welcomed by every parent.
I believe that we have enough legal minds, and qualified welfare workers in the Ministries you mentioned, to ensure that existing laws of other countries are referred, proven and unproven cases in these countries studies to see the loop holes, and try the best we can to come up with a law as humanly possible to be free of loop holes.
For examples, whether with consent or not, any sexual contact with a minor (16? in US) is considered stautory rape. We should have something similar where, minors should be protected.
Posted by Adam | September 3, 2007 9:21 PM

Are you trying to invent the wheel? Nasheed it’s been invented already. Stupid. Take these things to your TVM and have live debates about it. That is your job. As far as i can see there are so many things that gov can do immediately to protect children form Paedophiles. When the police can throw people into lorries for peacefully expressing their views why can’t they do the same for Paedophiles?
Posted by Gee-wiz | September 4, 2007 9:01 AM

Mr Nasheed
You being one of the key people in our country I wish to make a request regarding parent awareness on this matter. This is happening at home too..children male and female are getting abused by adults at home. Even fathers,mothers,aunts, uncles brothers etc are among pedophiles….more than law enforcement this awareness is important. Parents should be creating awareness among children like my olg grandma did when I WAS A KID.Children should be taught to say no to wrong things. It cannot be school alone that should teach. These basic things about how to protect themselves should be taught to children by parents. Law gets enforced after the act has been done. Ofcourse enforcing of strict laws on this matter is essential and should be taken seriously.
My heart goes out to those little innocent helpless children . Most of the timem parents do not beleive children when they make complaints…PARENTS MUST LEARN TO LISTEN TO THEIR CHILDREN AND TO INTERPRET THE HIDDEN MEANINGS IN THE MESSAGES THEY GIVE…eg that they dont want to stay at home alone with a certain person etc…PLEASE CREATE AWARENESS ON THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITIES HAPPENING AT HOME WITH NEIGHBOURS..etc…AMONG THE PARENTS AND THE SOCIETY THROUGH DISSCUSSIONS ETC
Posted by jazmine | September 4, 2007 10:18 AM

Dear Nasheed, the matter has been on top of the agenda for several years. If you will do something while you are acting AG, do something to educate the “illiterate” judge who passed the most arrongant verdict in our judicial hisotry (against the “horrendous acts” – to qoute the President) and his likes. I know you have appealed against the ruling.
And I believe that the professionals at the AGO, Justice Ministry, Gender Ministry, and the respective parliamentary committee of the Majlis, need to attend a Children’s Rights sensitization and advocacy program. There are very good ones in the Phillipines. I really felt that way reading your post. I am shocked at the level of ignorance.
The Chidren’s Rights Act was adopted by Parliament over 15 years ago and that we are here today, is a shame! And to adopt legislation and not to check on its effectiveness is worse than not having done it at all. I guess Dr. Shaheed was right, after all!
Posted by Shihab | September 4, 2007 9:07 PM

Make a little bit of research at aminiya school, you will be amazed to find that a large share of current students as well as past has had faced some form of physical abuse and a large portion will say that it was within the family.
Child abuse has been in our country for decades but there has never been an established mechanism for victims to seek justice.
The president coming out and saying that the culprits will pay doesnt necessarily pave way for such victims to justice.
Most such cases are kept as family secrets and in our supposedly islamic society victims coming out and blaming their father, brothers..isnt considered the right thing to do, which again imposes much difficulty.
This is all because our society wasnt brought up nicely. Whose to blame? I feel that the government has much to be.
Posted by ali | September 5, 2007 3:31 PM

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In addidion, I noticed that comments on his blog were moderated. I wonder if all the comments really appear on the blog. Yes, my comment appeared. But I just wonder! In my opinion, this is not a good sign, specially him being a minister.

Responding To Child Sexual Abuse

When a child tells an adult that he or she has been sexually abused, the adult may feel uncomfortable and may not know what to say or do. The following guidelines should be used when responding to children who say they have been sexually abused.
If a child even hints in a vague way that sexual abuse has occurred:

* Encourage him or her to talk freely.
* Show that you understand and take seriously what the child is saying.
* Assure the child that they did the right thing in telling.
* Tell the child that he or she is not to blame for the sexual abuse.
* Finally, offer the child protection, and promise that you will promptly take steps to see that the abuse stops.

When a child tells someone about sexual abuse, a supportive, caring response is the first step in getting help for the child and reestablishing their trust in adults.

Signs of Sexual Abuse in Childhood

Sexually abused children may develop the following:

* Unusual interest in or avoidance of all things of a sexual nature.
* Sleep problems or nightmares.
Depression or withdrawal from friends or family.
* Seductiveness.
* statements that their bodies are dirty or damaged, or fear that there is something wrong with them in the genital area.
* Refusal to go to school.
* Delinquency/conduct problems.
* Secretiveness.
* Aspects of sexual molestation in drawings, games, fantasies.
* Unusual aggressiveness, or suicidal behavior.

Secrecy

Secrecy is a key which most abused children/adults try to hold on. There are several reasons for this, one of which is because they might get “publicised” and “stamped.” In the society, abused children are always given less respect and often not allowed to be a part of the society. These children take the measure of being “silent”, to avoid social stamping of “abused.”
The fear of not getting justice is another reason why abused children keep quiet. In some cases the abused children are critised by the law and are punished (as it happened in Maldives). This fear pushes them back from asking for justice.
The psychological affects to the abused child is another, perhaps the, reason why abused children choose to be silent. They get in a phsychological situation called “disturbed” and are often reffered to as “phsychologically disturbed children.”
Picture: bulhaa.blogspot.com

School Girl Sexually Abused

Maldivian bloggers are concerned and are writing up about the recent case of a school girl humiliated by tieing to a tree naked, and sexually abusing her. By now everyone is wondering how the case would end.
Ibthisaam’s Blog says that “the fact that the men chose to film and circulate the assault, will lead to more to claims that sexual abuse is acceptable in Maldivian society.”
Angain Naaraa Teddy’s Babblings says that “The guys have been caught thankfully. Seems there were about 15ppl at the scene. Most of them were jes watching but they too will share the sentence. Afterall, they weren’t any better jes cos they were watching.”

Four children allowed to marry under “special circumstances”

Four minors were allowed to marry last year under “special circumstances,” the Gender Ministry confirmed Wednesday in a statement.
In a statement which was released by the ministry to refuse mostly Haveeru’s claims that Maldives is a “paradise for pedophiles” and that the Gender Ministry’s Child Rights Unit headed by Mazeena Jameel, allowed children to marry under “special circumstances”, ironically the ministry itself confirmed that last year, four under-18s were allowed to marry under “special circumstances.” The ministry said that the Justice Ministry had asked the Gender Ministry to “advise” the Family court on such issues, and that during the period February 2006 to July 2007, 59 such cases were referred. “Out of these, only four children were given official permission to marry.”

Source: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/beta/english/?page=details&id=17664

Yet Another Two Cases of Child Abuse: in Male’ Vilingili and Gaafu Dhaalu atoll Hoadehdhoo

The past week has brought us to another two cases of child abuse. In one case a male expatriate teacher was caught red-handed molesting an 8-year-old boy in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll Hoadehdhoo, Thursday night. The teacher was caught red-handed by a group of people which included the boy’s mother.
In another case a video which is being circulated on mobile phones, a girl from Aminiya School is seen tied to a tree nude, as she screams for help while the torturers continue to assault her. A police official said that the incident occurred on the 1st of this month in the woods of Male’s satellite town Vilingili, which already has become a nest for heroin abuse and trafficking though police are stationed there.
Now, everybody would be wondering how the cases would end. Well, I don’t have a good hope for the cases to go in the court.