MATI says prostitution does not exist in Maldives resorts

The tourism industry of Maldives denies claims of the existence of prostitution in tourist resorts in the Maldives, says an Australian newspaper.

Referring to the Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) Sim Ibrahim Mohamed, the article published on Australian website news.com said, “The spas operated in the resorts of Maldives are not brothels and sex tourism does not exist there.”

The article also quoted him saying, “The ban is very disruptive, not helpful for tourism and bad for our country's image.”

The article also said that even though Adhaalath Party claims that activities which conflict with Islam such as prostitution exists in the Maldives, President Nasheed is not a supporter of religious extremism and advocates a “tolerant” form of Islam.

It is widely known, and reported in the media that brothels are illegally operated in Male, the Capital of the Maldives, in the guise of massage parlors, where even human trafficking is committed, according to reports, to get prostitute girls from countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India. Adhaalath Party and the Union of Civil NGOs recently conducted a mass protest on 23rd December, participated by 100,000 people across the country, calling for the closure of these brothels in Male.

However, the Government has not done anything about the real demand, but has started closing all massage parlors in tourist resorts, which are staffed with trained individuals and are run in accord with international standards. The Government first ordered the spas in the resorts owned by Qasim Ibrahim, the biggest business tycoon in the Maldives, to be closed. Qasim was an ardent supporter of the protest on 23rd December, and many have said that the Government's order to close all spas in the resorts shows a calculated mockery and disregard of the demand to close whorehouses in Male disguised as massage parlors.