It seems that the cabinet is more concerned that we are not a member of the World Organization for Animal Health , than protecting our children from abuse.
Way to go man. After a brief silence, he has come out strong, challenging the people who are defending the abuse that is happening to our children in this country. The approach he is taking now is more likely to make a difference than all others ( All the caws and donkeys and etc..) who are being lame about this issue. It is not that people do not know what child abuse is. It is not that they do not know who tied the 15 year old girl who was tied to a tree. It is not that they aren’t aware of the proportion in which this calamity is happening in this country. It is what the silence and the inaction by the authorities that need to be tackled here. Once again. Good comeback Hilath.
Last night, as TVM usually does when I write a critical article against the government, it gave the “opportunity” to the Gender Ministry to counter the claims I made in a Dhivehi report last week titled “There should be no ‘special circumstances’ by which people can marry children” in which I exposed the Maldives’ government’s policy of marrying off raped children who got pregnant to the rapists themselves! This is the “culture” we see from Hindi movies where protecting “family honor” is of utmost priority.
I thought the Maldives’ government said that this is a 100 percent Islamic country and that we should be proud about it because the only other 100 percent Islamic country in the world is Saudi Arabia. So why is the Gender Ministry following Hinduism?
Whatever religion the Gender Ministry staff are practicing, I have to say that their policies are downright sick.
The buruga-clad staff of Gender Ministry “defended” everything I had written in the article, point by point it seems.
Ironically, she was now attacking the statement issued from her own ministry. In the article, I wrote only what the Gender Ministry revealed in a statement, a statement which exposed the ministry itself.
Immediately a friend called and said, “Hilath, are you seeing this? Once again they are only exposing themselves. And since they are demonstrating so much defensiveness, no one will believe them.”
Another friend, who works in the aiport called, “Man, these people are sick. Do they expect us to believe their shit? We all know how much child abuse is going in Maldives. If one in three women REPORTED they were abused, which is a high rate in itself, I am sure we can safely conclude that ALL Maldivian women must be abused. I am sick of this government and the country.”
I am disappointed in you Gender Minister Aisha. You should immediately resign if you cannot protect our children.
This follows from my previous posting on the chit chat Dr. Freex and I had and the comments i received on that post .
It is recently that some Indian Doctors went on a strike. Also, it is recently that the FIRST EVER STRIKE OF MALDIVIAN DOCTORS happened, how ever small it may be. Well, Maldivian doctors have more than many reasonable reasons to go on a strike and to go on a longer stronger strike. I need not list all that here. It is reason enough and justifiable enough to go for a strike due to lack of proper legislature alone.
I found this rather interesting article which appeared in The New Zealand Medical Journal regarding the ethics of doctors striking. A must read for everyone.
The main point is that despite doctors having a special contract with society, a utilitarian case can be made for a strike. What this means in simple terms is “what is right should result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.” The short-term inconvenience such as a strike must be balanced against an improvement in care—as a result of allowing doctors to have better living conditions and being better rested, and so then being able to do their job better.
If doctors (and others) truly believe it is important for patient care, then they must sometimes have the courage to do things that are unpopular and difficult. If the conditions that doctors work under put patients at risk, then (on balance) they are morally obliged to strike.
Need i say more. Yes. There is more to say. I will refrain from that for the time being. Below is a list of recent strikes by doctors around the world.
Ghana other health workers join doctors in the strike.
Miners join strike with doctors in Peru.
Israeli doctors’ strike closes wards.
No end to German strike doctors.
Doctors strike cripples Australian state.
And if you look more, you will find more stories on groundbreaking changes brought by doctors and other health professionals going on strikes.
Me:
It has to be a two way security to be fair for all parties involved.Only then these incidents can be prevented.
Dr. Freex:
The 8month old child weighed less than the expected birth wt of a NEWBORN(btw 2.5-3.5Kg)!!!!…that falls btwn the ‘Extremely low birth wt’ & ‘Very low BW’ category..this is proof that that the parents neglected the welfare of the child!…At that age the child should have atleast twice the birth wt!!
Prognosis for even the most trivial illness in such a child will be poor esp. if not treated in a Specialized Paedatric Center!.. Which IGMH is NOT!!
We seem to think that all our wishes will come true if we resort to violence and intimidation!…We are the only country in the world whr doctors are subject to such harrasement by a population hu seems to think they hav becom masters of the world coz they had a few street protests in the name of ‘democracy’!
Me:
An 8 month baby could weight 2.5 - 3.5 kg due to many things as you are also aware of as a claiming doctor. It could be due to the negligence of the child, it could be that the baby was having a co morbidity illness which was undiagnosed. Why are you jumping in to conclusions here?
What is wrong here is that no one has issued an explanatory statement to the public or the family involved. No postmortem has been done. No one knows for sure who is and to whom should the blame be thrown at.
It has become a common practice and a day to day practice now to say that IGMH is not fully equipped and specialised to treat the sick. Is that acceptable to the people who seek help from these “professionals”?
It could be that the child was so medically compromised that the doctors were unable to comfirm a diagnosis or a diagnosis was missed. It could be that the childs parents did their best but were helpless in the deteriorating condition of their loved child. It could happen. Right?
On the part of negligence i have this to say.
Access to information, education and means to do it is a fundamental right every human being should have when it comes to their health.
If these things are not provided, or easily accessible, there remains a responsibility on part of the health professionals and the authoritis as well. The public blame game has and needs to end if we all are to minimise these incidents and start working on real issues at hand and working towards protecting the public and children and safeguarding the rights of its citizens. This includes the people who are delivering the service as they too are receivers of the system.
You are so wrong in saying that we are the only country. Infact, if something like this happens in most developed countries people can sue the doctors ( a legal mean of acquiring their rights) which does not appear to be present in Maldives. So obviously people will resort to other means.
Dr. Freex:
You wrote” An 8 month baby could weight 2.5 - 3.5 kg due to many things “
It is not normal for an 8-month-old child to weigh the same as a NEWBORN, for whatever reason it may be!!! I don’t think many of you realise how grossly abnormal that is.
The fact that the child’s health was allowed to deteriorate to the point where the child weighed less than 50% of the expected 50th percentile (NORMAL BEING ABOVE 85%) points to negligence; because the child should have been brought to the attention of a health professional much much earlier!
That aside, I accept (as I have repeatedly on previous occasions) that there needs to be greater transparency on the part of the medical team. However it seems that our patients do not want to hear anything except that ‘total and complete cure is without a doubt possible; whatever disease may be affecting them & whatever maybe the state they are brought in, & whatever maybe the resources available at hand’.
And in this case the gravity of the situation was made clear to the parents; they were told that given the state of the child he/she would require treatment in a Paediatric Specialist Centre (this implies more than the availability of a paediatrician and Intensive Care facilities).
That being not available, & fully made aware of the precarious prognosis, they were offered whatever care IGMH could provide. The child succumbed, and this is hardly surprising considering the Weight of the child alone!
There are basic protocols that a doctor will follow in managing any case & even the most, dare I say, stupid of doctors would have been exposed to such scenarios throughout their MD years. Gross mistakes, as are being implied by the public whenever and every time a patient dies, are in fact less likely than the possibility that the life saving measures that were & can be taken, were exhausted.
Even with the best medical care available, trying to salvage a child weighing so less and in a centre where there are no intensivists or advanced life support systems is at best a shot at luck, unfortunately.
Regarding the issue of harassment, I stand by what I said. No country except in ours is there such a tradition (quite recent I would say) of intimidation & violence directed against doctors, WITHOUT so much as looking into the matter.
There is a system as of late to sue doctors, is there not? We have Hon.Husnu Suood don’t we?
In developed countries there is a system, which balances & recognises the rights of the doctors as much as that of the patients! The administration has utterly failed to protect its medical staff against a public who have grown comfortable with its attitude of malice towards doctors. The latest being this particular incident where the attending female paediatrician was physically assaulted & violated by the members of the grieving family, because the child succumbed to hi/her illness! TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!
Such is the level of enlightenment we Maldivians have reached! The recent news of an expatriate worker being castrated and murdered, and the immigrant community being subject to gang style terror, and the violence against doctors and children and women, all are the hallmarks of a society that has long abandoned all its moral values and it’s humanity.
And what do we have to show for it? Expensive bikes-phones, designer clothes & an arrogant conviction that we are as advanced as the west; and since we are acting like it, we deserve no less.
Speaking as a doctor, what I seek (as I have said on previous occasions as well) is reconciliation, mutual respect for each other’s rights & a collective ethos and a hand-in-hand effort (patient-doctor) in the war on disease & infirmity; because doctor needs the patient ‘s help as much as the patient needs ours, in order to fight disease. Please meet us halfway through!
And reject violence as the answer to everything and come to terms with the realities of health care in the Maldives – yes we are ill equipped! The Maldives is one of the poorest countries in the world and the logistical nightmare of catering to a minuscule population spread so far and wide is without parallel, in any part of the world. So far we have managed to build tertiary level hospital in Maale & in regional areas; and the post-tsunami influx of patients from the islands isn’t making matters any easier.
Let us therefore stop blaming doctors for the shortcomings of politicians & circumstance.
I say again, violence is not the answer. The assault on the female doctor is unacceptable.
Me:
I understand the frustrations of doctors these days. No. It is not acceptable to resort to violence. It is not acceptable by any means.
The point i am making here is this.
+The weight of the child was not normal.
+We have become spiritual beasts who no longer consider reason and facts as acceptable.
+I do not know if the family came from a far away island, in which case we can imagine the services provided and available.
+We do not know the financial status of the family
+ we do not know the education and how much they understand what the doctors are saying
+we need to approach each and every case with empathy and understanding
+ we need to provide and understand and listen to their stories as well.
+ If doctors do not have time to do that, they should fight to get that time needed to be with their patients.
+My conscience does not agree that if the parents were well informed , in an understanding and empathetic manner, they would have resorted to violence.
+For gods sake it is their child.They will be going through so much.
+We do not know why the child was not brought to a doctor b4.
+ we do not know the situation of the parents
+ we do not know whether they knew that the weight was below normal levels even b4 they brought the child.
+We should not rule out negligence
+We should not say that it is due to negligence without a thorough assessment which includes the family
+These things will happen if you neglect the parents and concentrate your efforts only on the child. No social workers for the family to talk to.. No support services but only wondering speculation and assuming left for the family is available while the doctors are working on the child..
I totally agree with you that politicians need to play a more passive (active ) role in the delivery of health care.
Who are there to pressure them?
As advocates of the public ,i feel that a huge responsibility lies on the shoulders of doctors and other health professionals.
Yes, i agree that we need to join hands. Divide and rule has been the motto so far. We , all as health professionals need to make it a point to the politicians that we need a safe environment to work, we need a safe environment for the patients who we treat, we need legislature which clearly defines what is illegal and negligence. What the responsibilities are. What a doctor cannot do.
To make that point we health professionals are the major driving force and we become politicians in the process. Dont you agree? There is no way that politics can be sidelined and just say that it is not our job to bring about changes. We cannot say that it is the job of the politicians alone, if you would like to phrase it like that. Health professionals are politicians. And we as a collective force need to push for changes to happen and then only will change happen.
Recent strike is a good start and i would like to see many more. I am really happy that the doctors decided to strike on a mini scale. But, i reiterate again, but.. we need a strike on a bigger scale to even get the message out there.
No one cares about the health professionals at the moment. The message need to be delivered to the public about the lack of legislature, infrastructure, support and etc..
If not many more of these incidents are going to repeat. It is inevitable. And foolish to think otherwise.
We just cant say NO TO VIOLENCE and expect a growing number of population who are also frustrated and helpless in the way medical care is provided and expect nothing to happen. We are all humans after all. A child is a child and a parent is a parent. A sister is a sister and it is not easy to see your loved one die.
“There are unethical things that people do because of religion they wouldn’t do without it,” he said. “Mutilating the genitals of their children, blowing themselves up in the attempt to murder other people, banning books, burning each other’s churches — things that an atheist wouldn’t do.” _Christopher Hitchens_
I disagree with Hitchens on the part regarding genital mutilation. At least partially. Most of the genital mutilations that were carried in the African continent were influenced by the traditions they had been following. Even today we can see many tribes in remote areas of many African countries practicing this form of mutilation, not in the name of religion but because their girls will not find a man if the place was “opened” before marriage. It has been a tribal practice, and even today if you ask some Somali tribal members, they would vehemently say that it is something their forefathers have practiced from time immemorial. Only recently, it has become linked to religion and people have embraced the practice as part of a religious ritual.
When does “traditions” become “religions”? Or does traditional practices influence religions? It goes both ways.
What is important to notice, however, is that men have always dominated this planet as providers and food gatherers. This aspect of life is evident in the remote Zulu tribes of Africa even today. Women have always been the inferior species.
Men have always dominated upon women even when it come to the womens vagina’s. Women had no say on their vaginas. Women did not have the control over their vaginas. Men are ruthless creatures, who for their own benefit has reinforced this belief that a woman should not have been “opened”, only for one selfish reason. The sexual gratification of themselves.
Times have changed and this attitude, sadly remains in tribal communities as well as developed civilized countries . “A tight pussy is a tight pussy” remains in the mindset of all men and some women. How many women exercise their bits and muscles in order to tighten it up, so that the man will enjoy them?
And now a new wave of exploitation , the children and girls and women are being exploited in the name of “religion” ( a name created by some human). And i find this verbal exploitation rather disturbing and away from the truth. And that is, men have exploited women and girls for their sexual gratification and it remains that way in this age and time.
Maldivian doctors are awakening from their sleep. Good to know that.
This is happening in Maldives. Not to the extent and severity as such as in the African or South East Asian countries. We all should join hands to eliminate these kinds of practices. Since sexual harassment, rape and child abuse is on the rise and supported by the present Maldivian government (they haven’t said a single word openly on the recent abuse of children and ridiculous court hearings publicly), we all should do what ever we can in our capacity to protect our children and the children to come.
How many of you know that 98% of females in Somalia has undergone the brutal and traumatic experience of circumcision? How many of you are aware of the fact that 95% of Egyptian women are circumcised? How many of you know that it is a widely practiced (newly introduced) tradition in Indonesia? How many of you know a Maldivian girl who has been circumcised. I know one.
I wrote a pretty good article on female genital mutilation and i have lost it some how. 
I cant find where i saved it in my pen drive. I am going to rewrite it soon, when time allows me. In the mean time here is a video. It is shocking. Do not miss the last video from Riz Khan from 2 nd august 2007.
I think people are getting my point.
Mohamed Shihab in his blog writes.
The following is a linke to the news on Haveeru of three men who tortured and videoed a 15 year old girl nude in the “woods” of Villingili, an island of Male’ 8 minutes by boat. According to the newspaper the case was reported on the 8th of this month. And it is b..f… irresponsible that such a matter has not been reported to the public by the authorities, three days since; for purposes of national security and human rights, perhaps! People who have the capacity to digest such atrocities and keep it under the carpet to disclose in due course, needs to be replaced at the first next opportunity. This country cannot show leniency to child molesters, rapists, and cold blooded murderers. [They could have murdered this girl too!]
http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/?page=details&id=17599
My immediate reaction on reading the news item, was to call people whom I know who are in places which are related to the matter. A very educated argument that I got from one was, that newspapers sometime create a zeal out of these issues and are also known to fabricate the truth. That the names and faces of the accused will not be disclosed, in any developed country, unless it was established that the accused were the real culprits. When I further insisted I was told that it could be me who was wrongly accused - rights, my foot! Some were sympathetic to my view that the faces should be shown. After all, they do that for lesser crimes; and the accused are blamed in the media well in advance of the court decisions.
I guess I have to modiy my decision not to vote in the upcoming referendum; and go out and vote parliamentary. A presidential system will be run by educated technocrats. A parliamentary system of government will be run by ordinary people without much education like me and the great majority of this country; who will understand and listen to our feelings and pulse, more than the high class elite. Our matters will be taken more seriously. I am compelled to consider a parliamentary form of government to secure a better future for my children and grand children.
I will make a conclusion on Friday. The decision by the educated elite of this country who run the government now will tell us how swiftly a presidential system of government can address of matters of national importance to the people over those that are important to the sitting President! Let’s see.
This site supports for a parliamentary system in the upcoming referendum in Maldives. This site believes that only a parliamentary system will deliver the infrastructure in place for proper debate on health issues in the country. It is not what the politicians want, but what the people of this country need, that needs to be discussed in the parliament. The needs of the people need to be discussed. The needs need to be tackled. The needs of the people need to be critiqued. Those politicians who divert their own wants will be tackled efficiently only in a parliamentary system which will in turn divert the issues to the needs of the people.
Global voices online has posted about Pedophilia and child abuse in Maldives.
Maldivian bloggers are expressing outrage over the prevalence of child sexual abuse in the country and the lack of firm action by the government to address the issue.
Maldives has been rocked by the news of four rapists receiving a light sentence after a judge decided that because the raped girl did not shout or scream, it meant she gave consent. Moreover the rapists were banished to another island community where they could go on preying. In another incident a girl studying at a high school alleged that her mathematics teacher sexually harassed her during a tuition session. The school administration tried to downplay the incident and the foreign teacher was allowed to leave the country before an investigation was conducted.
