la nouvelle vague

I get tired of how easily people all around the world are swayed by the media hype. Retards are found in all cultures and all societies.

2010-12-01T16:54:00.000+05:00

An unidentified Western couple were verbally abused during what they believed was a wedding blessing conducted in the Maldives.

But instead of a blessing of their relationship, the couple were subjected to a torrent of abuse. The pair were oblivious to the humiliating words the celebrant was using as this part of the blessing was conducted in Dhivehi.

Among other things the celebrant called the couple “infidels” and “swine” and said any future children the pair produced would be illegitimate. 

dreams of the East

2010-11-25T22:31:00.011+05:00

I dreamt of walking through the East,

In sandals donned over tired dusty feet.

As I crossed the hazy oriental lands,

I saw peasants bent over fields of yams.

A festival of lights lit up the night,
A thousand lanterns gliding away like kites.
Prayers were said and candles were put a float,
The river ablaze with tiny bamboo boats.

Swimming in waterfalls, wind in my hair,

Wearing sarongs, light as the air.

The sun was amber and red.

As it fell and died, the colours bled.

I strolled through crowded streets,
Vespers everywhere were honking ‘beep ‘beep’.
Mountains on land and at sea towered above,
The butterflies, up the path and over the water; I was in love.

Forgotten temples and bullet holes,
Horrors which sent shivers through my soul.
Stories of atrocities tugged at my heart,
Children faces, after their deaths immortalised; art?

Street vendors offer spicy noodles dish after dish,
Feasting on crabs, prawns and freshly caught fish.
Markets selling fruit on the river float,
Anything you want the noisy city gloats,

Waking up was mundane,
To see familiar terrain.
All that was left was a place in my memory,
Where there was fusion of the old world and the contemporary.

in the words of lenny kravitz

2010-10-16T14:07:00.009+05:00

"I wish that I could fly
Into the sky
So very high
Just like a dragonfly

I'd fly above the trees
Over the seas
In all degrees
To anywhere I please

Oh, I want to get away
I want to fly away..."

"delivering affordable healthcare to our people"- Anni

2010-09-13T13:50:00.000+05:00

Right after Eid, I spent two days in the and out of hospital visiting a friend.

Earlier this year under the government’s public-private partnership programme, India’s Apollo Hospitals entered into a 20-year term agreement to manage the IGMH and bring the hospital to world-class standards. Apparently Apollo is required to invest $25 million.

I have to say I couldn’t see the difference. My friend was in the executive ward downstairs and it took them 2 hours (I am not joking!) to clean the room and put on new sheets! We had a few doctors and hospital seniors come and visit. The topic of conversation revolved around IGMH’s old guard; appointed by Maumoon, who were doing everything possible to ensure that the place didn’t run. They told us about stocks of medicine which had expired or run out due to mismanagement.

How can this administration run the county when there is resistance from the Majlis to the healthcare system? I feel that every day the government is called in to put out some petty fire or another. Leaving very little time to bring about change or progress… one and a half years in we are still cleaning up the mess left by Maumoon and coping with the polarized society he has left in his wake.

such a spartan ramazan

2010-08-15T11:33:00.003+05:00

This is my first Ramazan at home in the Maldives as an adult. I have to say I have been anticipating the smell of hedhikaa, the long afternoons in the kitchen listening to siyarath on the radio, the karaa fani, and the late night card games I remember from my childhood.

Alas! the Ramazan I remember has been washed away by the bearded men in ankle revealing trousers... Instead of the usual tv shows which were made for Ramazan there are sermons. One of which I had the unfortunate pleasure of having to listen to while preparing food ... it talked about menstrual blood of all things! The colours, the consistency... understandably I ate very little that day at break fast time.

And the food two types of hedhika; one spicy the other one sweet is a spartan shadow to what I remember. We use to have 4 or 5 different types of spicy hedhikaa, 2 types of sweets, 2 types of fresh fruit juice, 1 or 2 curries and rihaakuru, mashuni or mas kurolhi everyday. Yes! In my family Ramazan was celebrated, it was my favourite month of the year.

I think the only legacy left in tact was karaa! Still as juicy, sweet and as red as I remember it!

parlez vous Francais?

2010-07-20T14:17:00.010+05:00

Police: The Lady with the shoulder bag, stop running! The lady with the shoulder bag, stop running!

Police: Hey, you, don't run!

Police: Why are you running?

Marjane: I am late for a class.

Police: Maybe, but you musn't run. When you run, your behind moves in an obscene way.

Marjane: Stop looking at my ass!

a sham resignation?

2010-07-08T22:36:00.001+05:00

9 days later they all took oath of office and assume responsibility!

a fed up cabinet

2010-07-01T13:14:00.001+05:00

Someone once said to may "Maldives? Aren't they those sleepy little islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean..." I think we've far out grown the 'sleepy-island scene'. I mean if we aren't holding cabinet meeting underwater, our cabinet staging mass resignation.

Lets recap shall we? Through the amendments to the Public Finance Act the opposition MPs were trying to give parliament the right to veto government plans; these included key privatisations and changes to the policy on loans.

Hmm do you hear that? It sound like a bell is ringing "UNCONSTITUTIONAL"!

I don't really blame Anni and his ministers. DRR and their opposition bloc which control the majority in the Majlis, with this power they will not allow the government to make any headway. They will just block them at every step of the way.

It took us 30 years to overthrow a tyrant dictator, I wonder how long it will take us to reform the Majlis.

enough said

2010-06-20T12:43:00.000+05:00

lawsuit: "openly declaring sin"

2010-06-15T22:28:00.001+05:00

So I've been following Saudi Arabia in the news... and it seems that three young Saudis are in trouble with the Religious Police (tsk tsk naughty boys and girl!)

A lawsuit has been filed against them for the crime of "openly declaring sin" and said it would take at least one week for the Islamic sharia court to decide whether to proceed with a trial or dismiss the case.

All this because the three were featured in MTV's "True Life - Resist the Power, Saudi Arabia" which followed how they cope with the strictures they encounter in their daily life in Jeddah, seen as the kingdom's most liberal city.

"We are not free to live as we like," said Aziz, one of the youths who appeared on the MTV show. In the episode he tries to meet his girlfriend for a date, a risky endeavor in the kingdom.

Fatima, wants to start a business selling the traditional abaya in colors rather than the standard black.

The show also followed the struggle of a heavy metal who explain that when they pray they turn their heavy metal T-shirts inside out to show respect for God.

Heart of Glass

2010-06-09T18:37:00.001+05:00

"walking down life by myself, and it's okay"

-sweets

resistance from a woman means a lot...

2010-05-26T21:56:00.003+05:00

I read earlier this week about a Saudi religious policeman from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, questioned a young couple walking together in an amusement park to confirm their identities and relationship to one another, he got a painful surprise - when the woman suddenly attacked him.

Apparently he was punched repeatedly, he assault was eventually taken to hospital suffering from severe bruising.

If the woman is charged with assaulting the officer, she could face a lengthy prison term, or a lashing, or both.

'People are fed up with these religious police, and now they have to pay the price for the humiliation they put people through for years and years,' Saudi human rights activist was quoted saying 'to see resistance from a woman means a lot... This is just the beginning and there will be more.'

Dedicated to the Mysogynist at Work

2010-05-07T18:07:00.000+05:00

I am not a feminist but this guy at work makes me so mad, in my head I've been constantly thinking: "if you call me 'Kambulo' one more time I will kill you!"

Out of Work Prostitute Will Work for Free

2010-04-29T17:58:00.001+05:00

Okay, okay. So the title is a little over the top. But unemployment is seriously getting to me.

chai for the soul

2010-04-24T23:55:00.004+05:00

I woke up to a reminder of how truly blessed my life is with beautiful people like 'arctic fire'. Thinking of you now, as I write. You hit the nail on the head, I am having one my "appreciating the small things moments- the smell of the ocean, the look of the moonlight and motorbikes as they pass by at night and the soft laughter of friends." Your absence is sorely felt in the dent that you've left in my heart. I miss you my sister from another mother. I miss you my friend.

"There's nothing I could say to make you try to feel okay,
And nothing you could do to stop me feeling the way I do.
And if the chance should happen that I never see you again,
Just remember that I'll always love you."

-Badly drawn boy, A minor incident.

women: 'prisoner's behind netting' or 'uncovered meat'?

2010-04-15T22:06:00.004+05:00

Two women on atoll radio the other day were talking about Buruga's and covering up your modesty. They spoke about the west being infested with promiscuity and lewdness. This the believed was because the women in those societies refrained from covering their heads. Next they implored all muslim women to wear the buruga and protect themselves.

For me the programme stirred conflicting merits at a personal level. I believe in a plural society where those who want to wear the buruga can do so without prejudice but I also believe in respecting those who choose not to cover their heads. I think my stand on the issue is best explained through my opinion on the relationship between the Hijab and two men; the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the second being Australian Mufthi Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali.

Last year Sarkozy again exhibited that he is more than willing to trade off civil liberties for political gain when he was quoted to have said "We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity" President Sarkozy Sarkozy's comments are unacceptable. Article 18.1 of the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights protects a person's right to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion; "freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching". This inherent right cannot be derogated even in times of national emergencies (See Article 4.2).

So why is the French President, the leader of one of the G8 countries making such statements? Does he not understand that the buruga is a symbol of our faith just like a rosary beads and crosses are apart of his faith. If the lawmaking body finds that the buruga does undermine French secularism and bans the buruga the same way they banned burugas in public schools in 2004, are such laws not blatantly against the spirit and wording of Article 18 and infringe the rights of the 5 Million Muslims in France? Such discriminatory laws would surely fall within Article 26 which states that "the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground" including sex and religion.

There has been a lot of literature about young girls and women who were barbarically forced to wear the buruga. Wearing it, needs to be a choice made by a girl because of her belief. I agree that sometimes these choices are made for the girls whether it be their parent or the fear of being ostracised from the rest of their community, but these are not the women I am talking about here. I am talking about the many women and young girls who choose to wear the buruga and embrace it as apart of their faith. Discriminatory laws would infringe on their rights to express, observe and practice their belief. This is why I think that Presidet Sarkozy's remarks are unacceptable.

Rights come along with responsibilities. Just because you are privileged with a right protecting your freedom of expression does not mean that you can infringe on the rights of others by saying derogatory things. Muslim clerics have developed a bad rap for doing so. Take the example of Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali. He was in the news a few years ago for one of many controversial comments:

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside... and the cats come and eat it... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat?"-Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali

Being a woman who does not wear the buruga I take great offence to this remark. Promiscuity does not stem from a piece of fabric you cover your hair with. Promiscuity is a choice made by a man and a woman, whether they are covered from head to toe in 8ft of cotton is not the issue here. Comments like these are offensive and serve no purpose but to alienate people of other beliefs from the good teachings of the Quran. The Prophet P.B.U.H lived in peace and harmony with Jews, Christians and Idolaters of Madina. Did he not teach of tolerance?

Respecting and observing tolerance to the rights of others and their beliefs is pivotal for humanity to co-exist. But these rights come with responsibilities which need to be upheld. I am a Muslim woman, I don't consider the buruga to be a prison nor do I believe that my choice of not wearing it automatically qualifies me a piece of meat- STOP LABELING ME! - and go work for world peace, or eliminating poverty and starvation or the likes.

Keats; the elixir for love.

2010-04-11T23:35:00.002+05:00

Ode to a Nightingale

STATE OF OUR NATION - the U.S state Department's Human Right's Report on the Maldives for 2009

2010-04-05T22:54:00.005+05:00

Below is an abstract from the U.S Department of State's 2009 Human Rights Report: Maldives.

-A man can be convicted of rape in the absence of a confession only if there are two male witnesses or four female witnesses willing to testify.
-Out of 10 rape cases reported, only two led to convictions, partly due to the difficulty of proving rape.
-Under the law, spousal rape is not a crime.
-There are no laws in force regarding domestic violence against women or workplace harassment, nor were there firm data on the extent of violence against women. .
-Access to justice is one of the biggest obstacles to eliminating gender-based violence.
-One in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 years reported some form of physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives.
-One in six women in Male and one in eight countrywide reported experiencing childhood sexual abuse under the age of 15 years.
- Of those women between the ages of 15 and 49 years who had ever been pregnant, 6 percent reported having been physically or sexually abused during pregnancy.
-It was reported that many respondents perceived women to be subordinate to men, and that men had used Islam to justify restrictions and violence against women-
-The minimum age of marriage for women was 18 years, but marriages at an earlier age are common.
-Under Islamic practice husbands may divorce their wives more easily than vice versa, absent mutual agreement to divorce.
-Shari'a also governs estate inheritance, granting male heirs twice the share of female heirs.

can't seem to find my way home

2010-04-02T17:45:00.001+05:00

The winds and my ruby red shoes have blown me back to Male'. But it feels like I've been a flyer too long.

Is it even possible to suffer from culture shock in a place where you grew up? The sheer number of veiled women, wait let me correct myself women in black hijabs and nigabs on the streets of Male' left me utterly flabbergasted. And the bearded wahabbi men, with head cloths and salwars, its like walking through some Arabian/Parkistani village. You half expect camels to pop out of the blue.

Then I was introduced to the preachers and pundits on the now numerous radio and tv channels. For men who speak the word of God and his prophets, some of them sure do speak filth. Promises of sexual favours and fantasies... going to the very details of the bosoms of the consorts 'ye with faith' will receive in the here after - erect nipples seem to be very popular. Some of it, I would have classed as soft porn. Sitting on their self rightous pedestals, they blamed the demise of our society -drugs, sex & rock n roll- on women going out to earn rather than staying home to cook, clean and look after the young. What enrages me is that they do all this in the name of Islam. This is not the Islam I was brought up in.

What I see is the Arabisation of our once unique way of living. Blatant derogation and marginalisation of women by misogynists. And here we the so called liberal Maldivians just sit and watch the desertification of the 'sunny side of life'.

So for the love of country and our way of life, I join the resistance movement! I know these mullah's are organised and well financed, I know they have both power and numbers. I fully understand that they can take away everything from me. Everything except my will to resist. You see I've come to a conclusion, I will apologise to no one, because that one ounce that they can not take from me holds every free thought, belief and hope I have or have ever had.