Gender parity: Foreign Ministry becomes role model

Foreign Ministry has stated that if the parliament approves the five names President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sent on Wednesday, there will be a gender balance among the heads of the diplomatic missions of the Maldives

The newly proposed names are for the Ambassadors to Bangladesh, Pakistan, UAE, and India. Additionally, it includes names of Permanent Representative for Geneva Office and Non-residential Ambassador for Swiss Confederations.

Names proposed for Ambassadors
• Shiruzimath Sameer – Ambassador for Bangladesh
• Farzana Zahir – Ambassador for Pakistan
• Aminath Shabeena – Ambassador for UAE
• Dr Hussain Niyaz – Ambassador for India, and Non-resident Ambassador for Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan
• Dr Asim Ahmed – Ambassador at Large, Permanent Representative for Geneva Office, and Non-resident Ambassador for Swiss Confederation

According to the Foreign Ministry, all nominated individuals have been working in the diplomatic field for a long duration and are career diplomats. The Ministry detailed that once the newly proposed names are approved, there will be a gender balance of Ambassadors assigned for the foreign countries.

“In that sense, there will be nine female diplomats and nine male diplomats”, said Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has also noted the triumph of Foreign Ministry in bringing such a balance while there is always a lack of women at the senior positions of the government. The Minister remarked that this is the first time such a balance will be achieved.

"3 out of 5 nominated today, as Heads of diplomatic Missions are women. Once appointed, Maldives Foreign Service will have gender parity among its HOMs for the first time in the history of our diplomatic service. For us to excel, equal participation of women and men is crucial., said Minister Shahid in a tweet.

Maldivian female ambassadors will be in Pakistan, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh, UAE, United Kingdom, and Consular General in Trivandrum, Permanent Representative to UN based in New York, and Permanent Representative to ESCAP in Thailand.