#MenAreTrash hashtag sparks widespread debate and outrage on Maldivian twitter

The polarising hashtag caused an uproar and week long drama across the Maldivian twitterverse and tweeps debated the controversial topic. Are men trash? Are men trash, but is the wording wrong? Have people who say men are trash actually not met enough men who are not trash? Are women responsible for the men in their life being trash? Can they simply just filter them out? All this and more below. This is of course just a taste. I also did not include some of the nastier stuff from obvious troll accounts.

Maldivian Social Media, Maldives, Contemporary MaldivesHani Amir30 May 2018Maldives, twitter, feminismComment

Mohamed Nazim’s 2010 confession - a turning point for Maldivian minorities

That battle had been won. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30 year rule had come to a close. Maldivians had finally arrived in the “anneh dhivehiraajje” (other Maldives) that was promised by Mohamed Nasheed and the Maldivian Democratic Party. A different Maldives. One with liberty and justice, where people would be free to express themselves, to be themselves.

It was in this intoxicating atmosphere of promised progress that Mohamed Nazim boldly asked Zakir Naik what the punishment for apostasy in Islam was. He said the question was important to him as he himself was an atheist. What was the penalty for him, he asked, standing in the middle of a crowd buzzing with shock and rage. One can only imagine the fear, clearly visible through his body language, that he must have felt at that moment. Naik, perhaps not wanting the bad press of a murder happening at one of his events, deflected the question and said that it would be up to the Maldivian government to decide. And decide they would.

Contemporary Maldives, Maldives, Laadheenee RightsHani Amir16 March 2018Maldives, Islam, minority rightsComment

The Male' City Swimming Track

Chapter 01 of my work in progress book "Sinking Streets".

Chapter 02 - Doorways to the Sea

Chapter 03 - The Laadheenee Among Us

I am floating on my back with my eyes closed. The sun is beating down on my face from above. The rumbling monster of the city is silenced and for a moment I forget about the stress that brought me here. The fresh morning air is tainted with the smell of diesel. I exhale and sink further down under the water’s surface.

Photo Essays, Non-fiction, Contemporary Maldives, Self Reflection, MaldivesHani Amir19 February 2017Maldives, photography, photo-essayComment

Mausteroids.exe - An asteroids clone featuring Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Game Dev, satire, Downloads, Video GamesHani Amir4 January 2017Maldives, MaumoonComment

The Dhivehi Film Industry - An analysis of Reeko Moosa's Dhanmalhi (1993) [PART ONE]

Dhanmalhi is a 1993 made for television drama which was written and directed by Reeko Moosa, who also plays the lead character. This is part one of my analysis.

Maldivians freak out over harmless gesture from Maldivian Idol contestant

The recent launch of the Maldivian version of the hit "Idol" format by TVM is one of the most significant events in Maldivian TV history. The show is by no means perfect, but it is one of the first times that Maldivians from all over the country have had a platform to show their talents. It is inspiring to see the joy on the faces of contestants who make the cut. Part of its purpose also seems to be to give the impression that the Maldives is a lot more progressive than it actually is. Probably a move by the Yameen administration to improve it's image abroad. Whatever the case, the show is commendable for sticking to it's progressive values. Predictably the backlash from the conservative crowd has already begun, with many calling to boycott the show for being "laadheenee" or irrelgious and "against Islam".

Contemporary Maldives, Maldivian Social MediaHani Amir4 February 2016Maldives, from the comments, Islam, Maldivian IdolComment

TVM Haze

The world has changed so much in the past few decades. The sheer amount of information we have accessible at our fingertips is sometimes hard to comprehend. If you are a person who has the privilege of internet access, the only excuse you have for your ignorance is yourself.

Contemporary Maldives, Non-fiction, Self ReflectionHani Amir3 February 2016Maldives, TVM, MaumoonComment

Third World Democracy Simulator v0.13

satire, Game Dev, Video GamesHani Amir19 January 2016Satire, Games, video games, Maldives, Cookie Clicker Comment

Fear of the Dark

All the while the rushing would intensify as if heading towards some grim crescendo. As this feeling grew and I drowned in feelings of utter helplessness, so did a growing panic that something... bad.... was about to happen. This jinni, this being, was going to take my life - or worse - take my sanity and run screaming with it all the way to hell.

Maldives, Non-fiction, Self ReflectionHani Amir13 October 2015Maldives, Djinn, Jinni, Islam, Apostates in ParadiseComment

Maldives, UPR Report Consideration 2015 - Statement by Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed

"Let me now turn to the recommendations we received from Member States. As we have stated at the UPR Working Group, for over eight hundred years, Maldivians have embraced and maintained our Islamic values. Islam forms the basis of our Constitution, and all our laws. Any efforts to introduce practices contrary to the values of Islam, will not be entertained by the people of Maldives. Of the sixty recommendations the Government has rejected, and thus taken note of, are mostly those that contradict with the Islamic faith and our Constitution. The people of Maldives, through a democratic process, have rejected freedom of religion, LGBT, and non-traditional forms of family. However, as previously stated, non-Maldivians are allowed to practicetheir own faith in private. We have also provided explanations on the recommendations in the Addendum submitted to the Council." - Dr. Ali Nazeer

What democratic process?

Maldives, Contemporary MaldivesHani Amir27 September 2015Maldives, human rightsComment

A POLICY OF DESTRUCTION - From 'The Maldive Islanders' by Xavier Romero-Frias

This is the final chapter of Xavier Romero-Frias' "The Maldive Islanders". With the direction the Maldives appears to be heading in, it is perhaps even more relevant now than when it was first written. If you wanted to know why so little is done to preserve Maldivian culture and heritage, this is why.

11 images from my photographic portfolio as interpreted by Google's Deep Dream #dreamdeeply #deepdream

Photography, Experiments, MaldivesHani Amir14 July 2015photography, deep dream, google, skynet, google skynet, underwater, landscape, corals, hands, dogs, kitsch, science, psychedelic, Maldives, Tasmania, EidComment

Recommended reading:

Sinking Streets Chapter 01 - The Male’ City Swimming Track

TVM Haze

Mohamed Nazim’s 2010 confession - a turning point for Maldivian minorities

A collection of Yameen Rasheed's writings on Maldives, Secularism, Standing up for Maldivian Minorities, and Fighting Religious Radicalism

The Sustainable Fishing Practices of Dhivehi Reef Fishermen (and how the resort industry is screwing them over)

A timeline of religious extremism, minority struggles, and human rights abuses in contemporary Maldives

My Experience Dealing With Maldives Police Service

The Greatest Maldivian Visual Artists of the 21st Century

Splinters Act I - The Akasha Frontier

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