Newly appointed Gender Minister Aishath Mohamed Didi has visited the children's shelter "Fiyavathi", and met with the children and employees at the institution.
Gender Ministry revealed that the Minister visited and inspected the conditions at Fiyavathi, Hulhumale', and said that she met with employees and listened to their concerns. The Minister met with the children at the shelter as well.
Aishath Mohamed Didi was appointed as the Minister of Gender, Family and Social Services on Monday after former minister Aishath Shidhatha Shareef resigned from the post. Prior to this appointment, Aishath Mohamed Didi served as the Ambassador appointed to India from the Maldives. She has also previously served as Minister of Gender and Family during the rule of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.
Former Gender Minister Shidhatha Shareef resigned from her after several members of main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) called for her resignation due to the increasing number of child abuse cases surfacing around the country.
Shidhatha was heavily criticized over the past few weeks after several cases of sexual abuse of children and other forms of negligence surfaced across the country. The backlash intensified after it became known that a disabled youth was allowed to reside under the care of the former Disability Ambassador Ahmed Hishan, despite being made aware of sexual abuse allegations against him.
Subsequently, the MDP parliamentary group holding super majority in Parliament made the decision to seek a no-confidence motion against Shidhatha and remove her from her post on Wednesday. However, she resigned before her dismissal could be pursued.
While the former Minister resigned in light of these massive pressures, the Gender Ministry does not receive much needed financial support from the government, it was earlier said.
