The
Maldive
islands are situated south-west of India,
on both sides of the equator. The islands are numerous but
small, and access to them is difficult because of surrounding
coral reefs. Also the people are small, adapted to island
life where main nutrition is fish, coconuts and imported rice.
The total population of the 1,200 islands is about 270,000.
The
nation living in the Maldive
islands has been isolated from the outside world for much
of its history. The only contacts to other people have been
through sea-trade, which is also the route Islam
found its way to the islands. Early records tell of female
rulers and inheritance of power through female line. The present
day society, however, is dominated by male clerics and an
adapted Islamic code of conduct. Women still enjoy many freedoms
compared to women in many other Islamic countries like equal
rights to education and freedom in selecting and divorcing
spouses.
Women
in today's society
Maldives
is a low-income country where both fertility and mortality
are high: average number of children born to one woman being
seven. Infant and child mortality on some of the remote islands
is very high, in worst cases only half of the children reach
adulthood. A woman marries in average four times in her life.
Divorces
are common because Islam
makes divorcing easy for the husband. marriages are not considered
as a family business but an individual choice. There is also
much suspicion and interest in other sex for possible future
spouses. People often live in their birth homes, even married
couples may only visit each other. Or a woman may stay in
her ex-husbands house after divorce
together with her children. A child in the capital Male
may tell to her teacher that on Friday she "went to park
with my mother's children" meaning the children of her
father's new wife. It is said that the record of number of
marriages for one couple is 99 - after every quarrel they
divorced but then again married each other.
Traditional
roles for men and women encourage soft-spokenness. Aggression
is strongly suppressed, even small children are discouraged
to express their emotions by crying or romping. Traditional
beliefs in witchcraft are still strong. People are afraid
of spirits, jinnies, which may come from the sea or live in
trees. The so called Fandita men are specialists against bad
jinnies and sicknesses.
The
capital Male'
is a small island populated by over 60,000 people. The congestion
is unbelievable, people live in small dark houses often without
any yard or garden space, average 14 people and three families
living in one house. The ground water is polluted, and in
the dry season there are severe shortages of water. Some people
have to sleep in shifts because there is not enough space
or beds. Women and kids mainly stay inside their living-quarters
except upper- and middle-class women who are employed in clerical
professions in offices. All manual labor except household
chores is done by men. Men do most of the shopping and trading
and spend time in tea-shops. Cooking takes a long time every
day, and much time is spent in sitting and chatting with other
women.
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