News Desk
MALÉ, Maldives — The sun was barely up when passersby spotted her on a warehouse roof — a young woman sprawled across corrugated metal, injured but alive. Hours earlier, she had plunged through a fanlight from the ninth floor of a nearby building, the crash echoing through the stairwell at 4:52 a.m.
For nearly three hours, 21-year-old Hawa Yumnu Rasheed lay there unseen, the latest casualty in a night of intoxication that has since pulled back the curtain on a troubling reality: the growing drug crisis among Maldivian youth and a culture of impunity that critics say is developing as the nation navigates increasing Chinese economic influence.
The case has sparked rare public protests in this conservative Islamic archipelago, particularly after revelations that Raud Ahmed Zilal, the 21-year-old man last seen with Yumnu, is the brother of Daud Ahmed, a senior media advisor in the President’s Office who headed the Youth Advisory Council.
Six days after the incident, police finally arrested Raud, who tested positive for cannabis and was captured on surveillance footage engaging in sexual activity with Yumnu in the stairwell of the building before her fall. The delay in his arrest has fueled speculation about preferential treatment.
“We’re tired of seeing different rules for different people,” said a 24-year-old student who joined demonstrations outside police headquarters last Wednesday. The protest, led primarily by Gen Z activists, demanded transparency in the investigation.
The government has since suspended Daud without pay and dismissed another official, Izdiyan Mohamed Maumoon, the Under Secretary for Strategic Communications. “The President’s Office is addressing these serious allegations with the urgency they demand,” said spokesperson Heena Waleed in a statement.
Izdian Mohammed Maumoon, recently sacked as Under Secretary for Strategic Communications in the President’s Office and nephew of Transport Minister Mohammed Amin, was appointed to the senior role despite known criminal records. Police disclosed that Izdian had a drug record from 2015 to 2017, prompting scrutiny over his appointment to a high-paying position given his prior history of drug-related criminal activity.
But for many Maldivians, the damage was already done. The incident has exposed uncomfortable contradictions in a nation that publicly maintains strict Islamic values while privately accommodating the excesses of the connected few.
This tension comes as the Maldives grapples with its relationship with China, which has invested heavily in the archipelago through its Belt and Road Initiative. While the current administration has attempted to rebalance toward traditional ally India, the economic realities of Chinese investment remain influential.
Regional analysts point out that the Maldives’ strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it a key piece in China’s regional ambitions. “The Maldives sits at a critical juncture in shipping lanes that China depends on,” notes a South Asia security expert who requested anonymity.
The case has also highlighted the growing drug problem in the Maldives. Despite the government’s tough public stance — including a recent ban on vaping — narcotics flow freely through certain circles.
According to police statements, Yumnu had drugs in her system when she fell. The group she was with that night, which included seven other young people, gathered at a residence before four of them, including Yumnu and Raud, ventured to the building where the incident occurred.
The pair, visibly intoxicated, entered the building around 4:30 a.m. Security footage shows them wandering barefoot through several floors. After Yumnu’s fall, Raud searched for her frantically but left without alerting authorities.
Police Commissioner Ali Shujau has insisted that “connections to politicians will not sway this investigation,” but many remain skeptical. The initial police response included a closed-door press conference and reluctance to identify all involved parties.
They are nephews of Transport Minister Ameen and son of a Foreign Service senior officer and nephews of for former MNDF chief.
Deputy Commissioner Ismail Naveen confirmed that forensic samples were taken from the aluminum frame of the fanlight where Yumnu fell, and that investigators are reconstructing the scene to confirm details of the incident.
The case comes as the Maldives faces broader challenges in governance and accountability.
For Yumnu, who remains hospitalized with serious injuries, and the broader Maldivian public, the case represents more than just one night gone wrong. It’s become a symbol of a society at a crossroads, caught between traditional values, elite privilege, and the complex realities of international influence in a strategically important nation.
