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In certain societies, people are prepared to go to any length, even murder, to save their honor. In the Maldives too, many a newborn baby has been gruesomely murdered to save family honor. The ghastly infanticide last January in Omadhoo, Thaa Atoll, is typical.
According to the details of the crime emerging from the ongoing trial, Aminath Hussein, Kasthoorimaage, Omadhoo, Thaa Atoll, drowned her newborn child in a tub of water. She then buried the body in the island beach. Allegedly she was helped in the act by her mother and husband. Such help from family members is a typical feature of this type of murder, perhaps in a deranged attempt to save family honor.
Even in the days when adult homicide was extremely rare in the Maldives, infanticide was relatively common. Apparently people considered infanticide as a lesser crime than other forms of homicide. However, such murders in many respects are worse than the average homicide, and must be given the strictest punishment.
[To read the details of Omadhoo murder in Dhivehi click here]
