Maldives

Legal Code Summary

Penal Code Law No. 6/2014

Legal Code Text

Section 411 - “A person commits an offense if [...] he engages in sexual intercourse with a person of the same sex. Same- sex intercourse means (A) Insertion by a man his sexual organ or any object into the anus of another man for sexual gratification. Or the insertion into another man’s mouth the penis of a man or (B) Insertion of a woman’s organ or any object into the vagina or anus of another woman for sexual gratification. The offenses in this Section range from Class 1 misdemeanours to Class 3 felonies that carry a jail term of between 6 months and 8 years (when same-sex involving incest or adultery).”

Section 412 - “A person engaging in sexual contact with a person of the same is committing an offense. ‘prohibited sexual contact’ means indecent acts other than the offenses prescribed under Section 411 (a) of this Code, with a person of same sex, or with a person of the opposite sex other than with a person to whom he is married, or with an animal, for obtaining sexual gratification. The offenses in this Section range from Class 1 misdemeanours to Class 3 felonies that carry a jail term of between 6 months and 8 years (when same-sex involving incest or adultery).”

Section 410 - “A person commits an offense if two persons of the same sex enter into a marriage. The offenses in this Section are Class 1 misdemeanours which carry a jail term of 1 year or less but more than 6 months.”

ILGA Analysis & Notes

Until a new Penal Code came into force in July 2015, consensual same-sex sexual conduct went unregulated in the Maldives under the civil law. But the existing Sharia code has been transposed into the civil code by this 2014 law, and it criminalises same-sex sexual acts for both men and women. For men, the punishment is banishment for nine months to one year or a whipping of 10 to 30 strokes, while the punishment for women is house arrest for nine months to one year. In its conception, Law No. 6/2014 sets out its range of offences and defences according to a Sharia scheme. This scheme then embraces the entire population and not just those of the Muslim faith. Less than two months after the new Penal Code came into force, arrests of gay men have been reported. Testimony in Kaleidoscope Trust’s publication (p.43) portrays the Maldives as highly hostile to LGBTI persons. At its 1st cycle UPR in November 2010, recommendations to Maldives were to decriminalise, protect against violence and remove discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in national laws. Maldives rejected all of five these recommendations. In a Briefing Paper (at p.2) submitted to Maldives’ 2nd cycle UPR in May 2015, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) says, “[u]ncodified Muslim Sharia Law criminalises homosexual conduct, thus making the Maldives a very insecure place to advocate for the rights of persons who identify themselves as LGBTI.” A panel of refugee appeals officers in the Immigration New Zealand Agency recognised that individuals continue to be forced to flee persecution based on their sexual orientation throughout Maldives. In finalising its 2nd UPR process in September 2015, the Maldives rejected (‘noted’) two recommendations made to it – concerning discrimination and decriminalisation (Chile and Argentina). In April 2016, Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the State to “amend its legislation in order to eliminate any discrimination against girls, children born out of wedlock or following out-of-court marriages, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex children”, and “to use legislative, policy and educational measures, including sensitization and awareness-raising, to end stigmatization” of such children.

2023-2024 Legal Developments

Continues to criminalise 'unlawful sexual intercourse' with a same-sex partner under Penal Code (2014) Sec. 411(a)(2). A Feb. 2023 case saw a police officer convicted, dismissed from the force, and publicly named after a same-sex relationship was exposed on social media.