Maldives protests, the history of caste slavery and more – Southasia Weekly #64
This week in Himal
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This week, Sreyarth Krishna writes the story of Eesoo, a Dalit woman whose courage in 1841 challenged a centuries old system of caste-based slavery in India, hastening freedom for millions. Krishna writes that while this history was forgotten in academia, many stories on caste-based slavery persist in popular culture and traditional writings.
Don't miss our story by J J Robinson this week on how young Maldivians are finding their political voice after a woman's fall from an apartment building.
For the next episode of the Southasia Review of Books podcast, host Shwetha Srikanthan speaks with Michelle de Kretser about her novel Theory and Practice which deals with colonialism and the moral complexities that arise in the gap between purported values and lived experience.
This week in Southasia
Young Maldivians find their political voice after a woman's fall
Young Maldivians have been protesting near the police criminal investigation headquarters in the capital city of Malé for a week after a young woman fell from an apartment building on 18 April. While she remained in hospital with critical injuries, the public began pushing for answers as rumours circulated that she had attended a party at the Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen’s residence. The police initially held a closed-door briefing for journalists where they showed CCTV footage from the apartment building, but blurred out the face of the young man shown in the footage. They were eventually forced to disclose the identity of the people who had attended the party after protests began. They included the Transport Minister’s nephews and two members of President Mohamed Muizzu’s communications team.
The protests have become a flashpoint for disaffection with Muizzu’s regime, with protesters highlighting police corruption and nepotism and accusing police of shielding politically-connected youths. A presidential commission appointed to investigate the case - a key protester demand - had to be reshuffled after one of the members was found to be related to a person of interest in the case. Ameen’s nephew Izdiyaan Mohamed Maumoon has been sacked from his role as undersecretary for strategic communications while Daudh Ahmed, Muizzu’s undersecretary for digital communications has been suspended, and two police chiefs have resigned due to the protests. The 21-year-old boy seen with the victim in the footage was also arrested after a week. But the protests continue, and police have begun cracking down, using pepper spray and arresting two protesters on 1 May.