Academic eBooks - ޢިލްމީ އީފޮތުގެ ޖަމާ
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Item A troubled future for democracy : the results of the 2015 Maldives democracy survey(Transparency Maldives, 2015) Sharma, Rakesh; Zahir, Azim; ރާކޭޝް ޝަރްމާ; އާޒިމް ޒާހިރުSince the first multiparty elections in 2008, democratisation in the Maldives has been challenged in many ways. One of the main factors is political turmoil. By the time the second multiparty presidential elections in 2013 finally came to an end after a series of delays and cancellations by the Supreme Court, the country appeared to be at a political breaking point. The atmosphere of relative calm that prevailed after the losing parties conceded defeat soon again gave way to political uncertainty. The recent arrest and prosecution of politicians has worsened the crisis of politics. This bitter partisan politics has not spared key democratic institutions, such as the judiciary and the parliament, further challenging democratisation. Successful democratisation also depends on the availability of a supporting set of democratic orientations and values held by citizens. It also depends on the political empowerment and engagement of citizens. The 2015 Democracy Survey, like the benchmark Democracy Survey in 2013, is premised in the widely held beliefs that successful democratisation everywhere depends on supporting values and orientations – that is, a democratic political culture. The survey provides a wealth of reliable and systematic information about Maldivian political culture. Our hope is that the systematic evidence presented here will help policymakers, civic and political organisations, state and private institutions, and the international community, in addressing some of the many challenges of democratisation in the Maldives. The 2015 Democracy Survey is also a nationwide survey of the adult population in the Maldives aged 18 years or older. It is based on a random sample stratified proportionally across the regions of the Maldives. The 2014 Maldives Population and Housing Census data was used as the listing of people above 18 years of age. This is the most up-to-date listing available in the country. Census 2014 preliminary data shows there are 341,256 people above 18 years of age. Hence, the target population for the survey is 341,256. The size of the sample for the survey is 1,064 people. The report has five sections: section I concerns the more general citizen orientations and views on democracy and the levels of engagement that together partly constitute “political culture”. Section II is about their views on more specific aspects of the political context in the Maldives. The report then presents, in section III, levels of public confidence in a range of institutions important for democracy and the country. In section IV, the analysis focuses on citizens’ views on gender equality and women’s political participation. Finally, section V deals with people’s attitudes towards political parties that form the backbone of political society.Item Country gender assessment of agriculture and the rural sector in Maldives(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2019) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; ފުޑް އެންޑް އެގްރިކަލްޗަރ އޯގަނައިޒޭޝަން އޮފް ދަ ޔުނައިޓެޑް ނޭޝަންސްThis Maldives Country Gender Assessment of Agriculture and the Rural Sector (CGA-ARS, or CGA) provides evidence of gender inequalities in the agriculture and rural sectors of Maldives, highlighting rural women’s needs, challenges and priorities. It also analyses country-level achievements, and shortfalls in closing existing gaps towards the pursuit of gender equality. The report provides information to the Government of Maldives on the current situation and guidance to decision makers on how rural development and investment initiatives may affect gender roles and relations, positively and/or negatively. It also provides data on facilitating women’s empowerment and their access to resources and opportunities. The Maldivian population is young, with about 53 percent of people being below the age of 20 years. The sex ratio currently stands at 969 females per 1 000 males. Besides Malé, only six out of a total of 1 192 islands have a population of 3 000 or more. Almost 71 percent of all inhabited islands have populations of fewer than 1 000 people (NBS, 2014b). Substantial population movement from the atolls to the Malé capital area took place during the period between 2003 and 2010. Due to uneven economic development in the rural and urban sectors, migration trends from the atolls to the capital deplete the human capital of the atolls (World Bank, 2016). The geographic and physical structure of the country exacerbates gender inequalities and prevents women from pursuing education and careers, as caring for children and elderly people living on rural islands takes precedence over prospects for education and employment opportunities elsewhere. The significant socio-economic and gender inequalities faced by women are the result of sociocultural norms and structural constraints, exacerbated by various current trends affecting the rural sector and society more broadly. This CGA identifies a number of interrelated reasons for these inequalities. Outmigration from rural areas, due to a lack of quality services and opportunities for employment, is negatively impacting the development of the rural agriculture sector and food security. In addition, when men migrate, women are left with additional responsibilities and work burdens and may not be able to participate fully in agriculture or other livelihood activities. Migration patterns also increase the dependency of women on remittances and contribute to high rates of family breakups as partners live separately for long time periods, resulting in a trend of increasing female-headed households (FHHs). The absence of necessary public services in education especially for higher education and vocational certification, in the rural areas means that women lack the skills to own and operate businesses and make lucrative earnings. Therefore, women are confined to a narrow range of sectors for their livelihoods, such as casual agricultural labour, fish processing, food preparation and small-scale home-based work. Although data from the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (MoFA) reveals that women take part in short training programmes carried out on the islands, they lack the additional support of extension services. MoFA does not have a comprehensive agriculture extension service; therefore, famers, both women and men, tend to lack adequate knowledge to sustain agricultural activities in the face of multiple agronomic challenges, including pest and disease management. Importantly, the emerging effects of climate change are impacting natural resource-based livelihood activities. The available data and field visits highlight that ownership of land and assets by women is inadequate, both at the household level and in relation to agricultural activities. Women depend on their partners to obtain land and assets, although savings of both partners are often used to build homes and establish farms. There is no regulatory system to ensure that women have access to land and other productive assets after a divorce or separation. Data indicates that while women have access to credit facilities through small and medium enterprise development programmes, the management of such credit facilities tends to be the responsibility of men. Mismanagement of funds by the men has often resulted in women getting into trouble with the authorities. To improve the lives of women and families, there is a need to establish a better system to monitor the use and management of loans and other financial transactions, guaranteeing not only women’s access to, but also management of, credit.