The Maldives — tourist paradise on the shores and repressive regime on the inside. Last August thousands of people protested against the criminal nature of President Gayoom’s government. It’s schooled in the way of the Egyptians, putting down basic human liberties and those of women most of all. No democratic opposition is allowed to exist. It is a quagmire of mob-like financial schemes and regional powers like India that don’t care to see change come to the country. When those people went out to protest initially, they went out even harder after opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed was taped being arrested forcefully even though all he was doing was sitting on the square.

Now, a huge demonstration is going on. Except now it’s women protesting, young and old alike. They want police to stop mistreating them and brutally arresting them. They want their rights. Thousands of them.

Hundreds – if not thousands – of women took to the streets of the capital on Thursday demanding greater respect from the police, who stand accused of a number of abusive arrests of female opposition supporters in recent weeks.

Mariya Ahmed Didi, shadow cabinet member and MP for Kaafu atoll, led the protest, which snaked around the main streets of Male???????? for over an hour before finally halting at the artificial beach area. Prominent women gave speeches to the assembled crowd, as did MDP President Ibrahim Ismail, before the protest was called to a halt at around 6pm.

Protest organisers had originally intended to descend on Republic Square but were prevented from doing so by riot police who formed a cordon around the square and the presidential palace.

Although many men also joined in the march, the women led from the front, interlocking arms and chanting for women????????s rights and the release of female political detainees Jenny Latheef, Fathimath Shiuna and Areesha Ali.

From megaphones distributed throughout the crowd, other marchers called for the resignation of the Police Chief, Adam Zahir, and President Gayoom. At one point, a booming chorus of ???????He????????s an animal, an animal??????? Gayoom is an animal,??????? could be heard almost the entire length of Majeedi Magu ???????? the capital????????s main thoroughfare.

As protestors reached the artificial beach, leaders addressed the crowd. Mariya called for a minutes???????? silence in remembrance of those affected by torture and illegal detention. She asked people to think of the children whose parents have been arrested and of families who have lost their sources of income following the detention of male bread-winners. She told the crowd to imagine the physical and emotional pain caused to families by arbitrary arrests.

Prominent Male???????? lady Zuhaira Umar, who was detained during the Black Friday demonstrations, spoke passionately about the need for women to continue fighting for their rights.

She noted that during the demonstration the security forces were positioned only around Gayoom????????s palace and other symbols of his regime. ???????What about the schools? What about the hospitals? What about people in their homes? Where is the protection for them,??????? she asked.

Mariya Ahmed Didi and Ibrahim Ismail, signalling an end to the demonstration, thanked the protestors and urged them to persist in fighting for their rights. People filtered home, while protest organisers gathered up litter caused by the demonstrators.

As most of the marchers left four women, including MDP member Meena Saleem, were reportedly arrested following a dispute with the police. MDP activists Shuiab Ali and Ziyattey were also arrested earlier in the day.

For the vast majority of the protestors, though, the demonstration was trouble-free, with demonstrators and the police avoiding confrontation. Many women said they were overjoyed to have aired their grievances in the first demonstration by women in recent Maldivian history.

The regime tried to ban the demonstration beforehand. It even sent people with the night before to throw at the organizers. Some were even arrested. But that didn’t stop them. Not even the protest babes. In fact, no matter how much the wannabe mullah Gayoom tries to suppress women, he couldn’t even stop men from joining the demonstration, and as evidenced by the photos, there were many.

The predominant religion is Sunni Muslim, with components of Islamic law incorporated into the legal code. Gayoom may be your typical banana republic dictator, but the people of the Maldives are no stereotype of Islamic extremists. Having been repressed since 1978 by Gayoom, they have become fighters for their own freedom. Ever since the Black Friday massacre in August 2004, pressure on the government by the people has become strong and is forcing it to open up to democratic reforms. These women are showing that not only will they not be repressed, but that they are the key to the solution.

You can see photos of the demonstration here and here. Video can be seen here.