Saturday, November 7, 2009

Girl slavery in Maldives

I came to know about the issue of "Jariya" or slave girls, after Television Maldives announced it. But numerous times I have heard that a certain socially isolated group of people actually support the idea of slave girls. Reportedly the issue surfaced when a girl(under 18 years of age) consulted a doctor in IGM hospital in Male'. The doctor who consulted her reports that the girl was sexually abused and she is pregnant. The Doctor also reports that the women who accompanied the girl informed that the girl was a "Jariya". But why would she say that? Interestingly IGM hospital had no records of her.
Slavery was once a  highly profitable trade in Europe and America
An article covering the story on "Haveeru" website showed a women in black clothes, which made me wonder whether there is any connection between the issue and black clothes. To the best of my knowledge many Muslims around the world wear black clothes including Saudis and Iranians, but it is not known that slavery is practiced in either of these countries.

This case is under investigation by the Maldives Police and Human rights commission. So far Maldives police remained silent about the issue, but Human Rights Commission of Maldives confirmed that "Jariyas" or girl slavery exists in Maldives.

In Maldives, the valid minimum age for marriage is 18 years. However, once in a while, illegal marriages(officially) are carried out by separatist groups in the society. So it is also possible that illegal marriage could be mistaken as girl slavery.

Slavery lasted in USA for as long as 3 centuries. Children, Men and Women were brought from Africa and sold for money. Slavery was ended in US by the amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. If you read history you probably know the unspeakable suffering of children,men and women from Africa who served the US and Europe as slaves. Every human being has full rights to live free, as any other human being. SAY NO TO SLAVERY.
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