Ex-reporter Aniya dies from cancer

Former reporter and political activist, Aishath Aniya has died after a long battle with cancer.

Aniya, who worked at Minivan News, later known as Maldives Independent, and Minivan Radio, died in a hospital in India’s Bangalore on Sunday.

Aniya was a well-know activist, commenting on a myriad of political and social issues on social media.

She most recently presented a 07:00 am current affairs program on the social network, Clubhouse.

Aniya had been in the frontlines of the movement by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in Male’ City in the early 2000s, which forced then-president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to introduce a multi-party system in Maldives, and later ended his three-decade rule.

She served as secretary-general at MDP, and ran for various electoral roles within the party.

However, she left the MDP in May 2022, after the vote to elect the party’s chairperson.