Narudhoo father refuses to abide by Court order granting children's custody to mother

An altercation has occurred in Shaviyani Atoll Narudhoo after a father refused to hand over his two daughters to the mother even after the Court granted the mother custody of the children.

Speaking from Narudhoo, a resident said that the mother is originally from the island of Dhiffushi in Kaafu atoll.

The couple had been living in Narudhoo since marriage until around two years ago, they said. At the time, the woman had travelled back to her home island for a visit and then refused to return.

The woman then lived in Dhiffushi with her two children. The resident says that the children, aged four and eight at the time, were returned to the father through the intervention of the Gender Ministry about a year ago.

Since then, the children have been living in Narudhoo with the father.

However, the Court presently ruled to return custody of the children to the mother, although the reasons behind the ruling are unknown.

Despite the court ruling, the man refused to hand over care of the children to the mother.

The resident who spoke from the island said that even yesterday, Police had arrived on the island and attempted to implement the court order, in vain.

After the man continued to refuse, Police today tried to implement the court order by force. Videos of this incident are currently being circulated on social media.

"The family acted out even when the Police came yesterday. Once again today the Police came to implement the ruling made by the Court. Even in the video you can see [them] trying to protect the mother," they said.

As seen in the video, some residents of Narudhoo surround the mother and protest against taking the children away. Police intervene and make efforts to protect the mother. Children crying can be heard in the background.

A member of Narudhoo Council confirmed to Mihaaru News that this incident took place on the island. They pointed out that it is important to act in ways that would not negatively affect children when authorities attempt to implement the law.

"Even in the video you can hear children crying and such sounds. We know this will greatly affect those children. Even if the Police work to implement the law, or the Gender Ministry does, they should do it in a way that will not affect the children. That is a deep concern of ours," they said.

The Council Member also said they are not aware of the reasons why the children are being returned to the mother. They also stated they are unaware what led to these major issues between the couple.