Shidhatha: The law will catch up with people who abuse children in the name of religion

Gender Minister Shidhatha Shareef says the law with catch up with the people who abuse children by using religion as a shield.

Shidhatha issued the warning in a tweet last Sunday evening.

“We will not allow the spread of extremism in the name of religion. The law will catch up with the people who degrade the holy principles of Islam and use religion as a shield to commit violence against children!” tweeted Shidhatha.

The tweet comes amid calls for a resignation over her refusal to comment of the case of a 13-year-old girl who recently gave birth in an illegal child marriage.

The police and Gender Ministry, in a joint press statement last Sunday, denied receiving any information the girl had been exploited in an illegal child marriage.

It said the case involved violation of educational and healthcare rights of a group of children from a local family. It said that the investigation was launched based on intel received by the police on June 6, 2018, and that the authorities, over the course of their investigation, found the family to be religious extremists.

Despite the denial, Sun has been informed through reliable sources that the man who was recently stabbed and thrown overboard a sea cucumber fishing boat, Hammad, 26, is involved in an illegal child marriage with a 13-year-old girl. The girl was taken into state custody after she went to Ungoofaaru Hospital, pregnant. She gave birth this November, and has been released in to the custody of her mother.