Aminath Zenysha Shaheed Zaki, the Minister of Gender and Family, on Saturday stated that gender based violence against women is common in Maldives.
Speaking at the Gender Awareness and Development Program (GAD), hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh, Zenysha referenced the results of a study conducted in 2006, which revealed that two in three women in the Maldives become the victim of physical or sexual violence at least once during her lifetime.
Zenysha explained that expatriates are included in the troubling statistic, and praised the organisers of GAD for holding a seminar regarding the crucial topic.
Zenysha also noted that while women who travel abroad for employment gain financial independence, they are still subject to several difficulties.
Around 100 Filipino workers attended the seminar on sexual harassment in the workplace and domestic abuse.
In addition to the Ministry of Gender and Family, Maldives Police Service, Maldives Immigration, Labour Relations Authority and the Employment Tribunal also attended the seminar.
Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo, the non-resident Phillipine Ambassador to Maldives, and Abdulla Solih, the Philippine Honorary Consul, also took part in the opening ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vicente stated that around 4,000 Filipino workers are employed in Maldives out of which the majority are women. He expressed gratitude for the support provided by the Maldives and stated that more such activities would be held in the future.
GAD is a series of programmes conducted for Filipinos, by the Philippines government.
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