Statement of the Maldives, September 2016

Investing in our people will put us on the right path. And no investment has higher returns than what we invest in women and girls. Empowering women and girls, to make their own choices, to determine the destiny of their choosing, is not only the moral, responsible and the right choice to make; but it is the smart decision to take. Women constitute half of our population. They can and should contribute to our economy. They can and should contribute to our society.

Women in the Maldives have had the right to vote since our first constitution in 1932. Women in the Maldives have always been in our offices, in our politics, in our society. They have always had equal pay and equal rights. It's now enshrined in our Constitution. Today, a woman in the Maldives, can also go to a court of law, and use the newly defined Gender Equality Act to claim those rights. They can challenge cases involving gender inequality, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse, with specifically defined laws to back them up. Still, we have a long way to go - every country does. But we believe we are on the right track, making institutional and structural changes, to bring lasting, and sustainable normative change.