FGM in the Maldives

Question 1

What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?

Answer 1

practice involving the partial or total removal of female genitalia

Question 2

What does Article 3 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights grant?

Answer 2

right to life, liberty and security of person.

Question 3

What does Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights grant?

Answer 3

freedom of torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Question 4

Why is FGM practiced in Maldives?

Answer 4

religious justifications and tradition.

Question 5

Is FGM legal in the Maldives?

Answer 5

Not outright, thus legal ambiguity enables continuation

Question 6

How prevalent is FGM in the Maldives?

Answer 6

over 50% of women over 15 in certain atolls have undergone FGM.

Question 7

What age group is most at risk?

Answer 7

5 and 12

Question 8

Why was there a rise of FGM in 2010s in Maldives?

Answer 8

influence of Salafi religious movements.

Question 9

Has the Maldives signed international treaties against FGM?

Answer 9

Yes - UDHR

Question 10

Are there local organizations fighting FGM?

Answer 10

Very few: fear of backlash and religious pressure limit public advocacy.

Question 11

What does the Maldivian government say?

Answer 11

discourages harmful practices, but policy remains passive - no secularism

Question 12

Feminist IR

Answer 12

Sees FGM as a manifestation of patriarchal control over women’s bodies and gender-based structural violence legitimized by tradition and silence.

Question 13

Constructivism

Answer 13

social norms, religious identities, and interpretations of Islam shape the persistence of FGM in Maldivian society.

Question 14

Postcolonial Theory

Answer 14

global campaigns against FGM can be perceived as Western cultural imperialism, prompting resistance and reassertion of local identity.

Question 15

Realism

Answer 15

Maldivian state prioritizes political stability and appeasement of religious institutions over confronting harmful practices.

Question 16

Liberalism

Answer 16

Advocates for institutional reform, education, and civil society engagement to protect human rights and promote long-term change.

Question 17

Cultural Relativism vs. Universalism Debate

Answer 17

tension between respecting local traditions and promoting universal human rights standards

Question 18

How greater is the mortality rate of 5 year olds experienced FGM than those who haven’t?

Answer 18

50%