VZCZCXRO5771
PP RUEHBI RUEHLMC
DE RUEHLM #0423/01 0740314
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150314Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5659
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0751
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9967
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6936
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 5014
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 2164
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7510
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5213
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1891
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000423 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT 
 
MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
 
TREASURY FOR LESLIE HULL 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN PREL PHUM MV
SUBJECT:  MALDIVES: U/S FORE MEETS WITH WOMEN LEADERS ON THE EVE OF 
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 
 
REF: COLOMBO 284 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  On March 7, the eve of International Women's Day, 
visiting Under Secretary of State for Management Henrietta Fore held 
a round-table discussion with female political and business leaders 
in Male'.  The participants said that female contributions to civil 
society and the economy are generally unappreciated in Maldives, and 
the role of women may be declining due to increased Islamic 
fundamentalism.  U/S Fore highlighted to her interlocutors that a 
Maldivian citizen was honored by Secretary Rice with the 
International Women of Courage Award.  End Summary. 
 
ECONOMIC RIGHTS LIMITED 
 
¶2.  (U) During U/S Fore's March 7 visit to Maldives the day prior to 
International Women's Day, she held a discussion with women leaders 
in business and civil society.  One participant said that Maldivian 
women have traditionally played a strong role in economic activity, 
but their contributions are rarely recognized.  She described 
inheritance laws unfavorable to women that permit husbands to 
maintain control of assets that wives are bequeathed.  Such 
treatment is symptomatic of a prevailing attitude in Maldives that 
women are incapable of handling money, discussants said.  U/S Fore 
noted that the women present clearly demonstrated that females could 
succeed in financial enterprises.  She suggested that female 
business leaders select one bank from the few present in Maldives 
and focus on negotiating special loan packages and marketing 
targeted to women. 
 
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS UNDER THREAT? 
 
¶3.  (U) One discussant voiced support for a quota for women within 
the People's Majlis (the legislature).  Another noted that although 
females in Maldives' political parties generally agree on certain 
women's issues, they feel intimidated within male-dominated 
political parties, and generally do not advocate strongly for 
women's issues.  U/S Fore praised one notable women's rights 
activist, Mariya Ahmed Didi, recipient of the Secretary's 
International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award. 
 
¶4.  (U) The group also discussed the increased impact of Islamic 
extremism (a topic raised in several other meetings with U/S Fore, 
covered septel).  Although the rising use of conservative Islamic 
dress is readily apparent on the capital island of Male', 
interlocutors told the Under Secretary that on several other 
islands, almost all women now wear coverings.  They said this is 
antithetical to traditional Maldivian custom, in which a woman's 
face should not be covered.  While no one condemned wearing the 
veil, the women in the meeting described the shift to its use as one 
symptom of increased Islamic extremism in the country.  They worried 
that if fundamentalism takes root, it will further infringe on 
women's rights. 
 
MALDIVIAN IWOC RECIPIENT TOPIC OF DISCUSSION 
 
¶5.  (SBU) At meetings outside of the women's forum, various 
Maldivian officials praised the decision to award Maldivian citizen 
Ms. Mariya Ahmed Didi the Secretary's IWOC Award (reftel A). 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Shaheed posited that the award 
served as recognition of the Maldivian reform efforts underway. 
Other officials expressed pleasure at the award, and gave similar 
pro-government interpretations.  On March 9, however, Shaheed 
contacted Ambassador Blake and asked him to provide a public 
explanation of the award's criteria.  Shaheed said that some in 
Maldives speculated that his familial connection to the winner 
played a role in her selection.  (Note: Shaheed was previously 
married to Didi's sister, with whom he has a son.  They are 
divorced, but he maintains good relations with her family, including 
Didi, a personal friend.  End note.)  He worried that hardliners 
were especially critical because the award recipient is a vocal 
anti-government member of the opposition.  The Ambassador provided 
 
COLOMBO 00000423  002 OF 002 
 
 
information about the award selection process to the Minister and 
offered to give an interview to local media. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶6. (SBU) The concerns Maldivian women shared with U/S Fore bolster 
our assessment that finding ways to empower local women may act as a 
counter-balance to Islamic extremism.  Through public diplomacy 
efforts and Embassy-wide outreach, we will continue to emphasize the 
need for greater gender equality.  It is interesting to note that in 
meetings with American officials, government ministers co-opted the 
IWOC Award recipient as part of the broader reform agenda.  However, 
Didi herself has strongly criticized the slow pace of 
democratization and urged the government to do more.  For the local 
audience, and especially in facing anti-reform hard-liners, Foreign 
Minister Shaheed sought to create some distance from Didi and 
provide the objective criteria for her selection. 
 
¶7.  (U) Under Secretary Fore has cleared this cable. 
 
BLAKE