Male’, Maldives – A no confidence motion has been filed against the Minister of Home Affairs, Imran Abdullah.
The motion was initiated by the opposition parties, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People’s National Congress (PNC), which account for a total of nine members within the Parliament. However, the motion was filed with a total of 11 signatures, including that of two independent members, MP of Thulusdhoo constituency Ibrahim Naseem and MP of Villimale’ constituency Ahmed Husham.
The stance was taken after Minister Imran came under fire for implying that a woman being groped is a trivial matter when he said that it is something that can happen in a public place, without anyone even knowing, as he spoke on a radio program broadcasted by local radio channel ‘Dhivehi Raajjeyge Adu’.
“Sexual assault or sexual harassment against a woman is not a small thing, it is a big issue, and neither have I said that it is a small matter either. The content being published by media about me misrepresent what I have said. I request all local journalists to maintain professionalism when reporting content. If anyone feels that what I said implied anything negative, I clarify that it was not my intent. And I apologize for any confusion” his two tweet long thread regarding the subject said.
Since then, Imran has taken to Twitter attempting to shift the blame on the mainstream media, claiming that his words have been twisted and that he did not say that sexual assault is not such a big deal. However, outpour of anger continue to be directed towards Minister Imran, despite his apology for “any words which might have implied otherwise.”
