A committee has been established to review existing women and child protection mechanisms: President

President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has said that government has established a committee, comprising of a number of Government Ministries and relevant authorities, to review the existing woman and child protection mechanisms.

In his presidential address during the opening of parliament for a new year’s term yesterday, the president said that a committee has been established to review the existing woman and child protection mechanisms, and that the mandate of the committee would be to review the existing mechanisms, particularly the legal mechanism and recommend to the state, areas that require change.

“Flaws in the protection mechanisms for women and children facing sexual abuse has become apparent, especially in light of recent events. I have established a committee to review and address these issues, comprising of relevant Ministries. The mandate of this committee would be to review these issues and recommend to the state the areas that require change,” President said.

President Waheed, during his tenure as the Vice President, had criticized President Nasheed’s policies regarding women and children, and had said that certain actions by the government had weaken the mechanisms for their protection. The President said that the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights needs to do a lot of work towards in this regard.

“Woman and child protection mechanisms have weakened further during the recent past. It is an area that was sacrificed during the changes, for the hope of a smaller government. The administrative structures for the protection of women and children, after the Ministry was abolished, the technical staff that worked in the field had also been dispersed to other areas. The social centres established in the atolls had also weakened during those days. I have established the Ministry Gender, Family and Human Rights to address these issues. However, a lot of work has to be done in this area,” said the President yesterday.

He said that while the weak, the children and the women are suffering in the community, it is grievance that the government is incapable to address these issues, and that it a further grievance that the government is reluctant to discuss these issues.

“While our weak, our children and our women are suffering, it is a grievance that the government is unable to take the necessary steps to protect them. It is a further grievance that we are reluctant to talk about these issues,” said the President.

He said that it is a duty of the leaders to advocate to protect women and children who fall victim to child abuse and said that a lot of work has to be initiated to rectify the current mechanisms for the protection of women and children.