Reasons for abusing women have to be understood to prevent abuse: Dhiyana

Gender Minister Dhiyana Saeed has said that in order to prevent abuse of women in the Maldives, it is important to understand why abuse is inflicted on them.

Providing information to relevant groups on the campaign initiated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon ‘United in Violence Against Women’, Dhiyana said that despite the low rate of violence against women in Maldives when compared with other countries in South Asia, it is a case for concern when considered as a percentage of population, and that it would be hard to combat this problem without identifying why women are exposed to abuse.

“I want to stress the importance of identifying what causes for gender based violence, because without knowing that, it would be hard to address such problems,” Dhiyana said.

She noted the recent progress in prevention of violence against women, including the bill on prevention of violence against women being passed by the Parliament.

“Action has to be taken by several authorities for proper enforcement of this law. This includes educating women, the public, and other relevant bodies; strengthening institutions which provide services in this regard; and strengthening the mechanism to monitor and revise the existing laws,” she said.

The ceremony was attended by Commissioner of Police Abdullah Riyaz and UN Resident Coordinator to Maldives Andrew Cox.

The forum, conducted in collaboration between Gender Ministry, Maldives Police Service and UN office in Maldives, will end this afternoon.