Surge in brothels due to early opening of borders during the pandemic: Imran

Minister of Home Affairs Imrah Abdulla stated that the prostitution joints operated in Male’under the guise of massage parlors surged in numbers during the pandemic due to the unrestricted borders of the Maldives.

In response to a question posed by TMJ regarding the government’s lack of efforts to irradicate prostitution in the Maldives, at a press conference held to mark the 4th year of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration to report on the work of the Maldives Police Service, Imran stated that operation of such establishments have not gone unaddressed and blamed the increase in numbers on two aspects.

Firstly, Imran noted that the main reason was because of the broad horizons of social media that allowed anonymity in expanding such businesses. Secondly, Imran stated that during the Covid-19 pandemic, while all other countries stayed closed off, the Maldives opened its borders which allowed the prostitution businesses to take deeper roots.

However, Minister Imran refrained from explaining how the open borders influenced the rise of prostitution within the community.

Logic dictates that since the Maldives has always granted tourists on-arrival visas, the border being open to guests could not possibly grant more advantages. Furthermore, while Imran blamed the anonymity of social media to have allowed the expansion of prostitute establishments, the platforms used to promote these businesses have always been public.

Imran spoke loudly and fiercely during former president, President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration when the number of prostitution rings and massage parlors gained in numbers. However, under Imran’s ministership, these rings have grown exponentially.