Moomina Haleem Ahmed Ismail, , (born 1939) is a Maldivian former politician. In 1974 she became the first woman to be elected to the

People's Majlis The People's Majlis () is the unicameral legislative body of Maldives. It has the authority to enact, amend and revise laws, as outlined in the Constitution of the Maldives. It is composed of 93 members as of 2024. Each year on the first Mon ...

. Three years later she also became the first woman appointed as a cabinet minister.

Biography

Haleem trained to be a nurse, including a one-year fellowship at the Australian College of Nursing in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, becoming the first Maldivian woman to complete higher studies in nursing. She became a matron in the government hospital in

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

in 1963 and a member of the Royal College of Nursing. In 1970 she married Kandi Ahmed Ismail Maniku, a businessman in the tourism trade. In the 1974 parliamentary elections she was a candidate in Malé and became the first woman elected to the

. In January 1977 she was appointed Minister of Health by President

Ibrahim Nasir Ibrahim Nasir Rannabandeyri Kilegefan (; ; 2 September 1926 – 22 November 2008), , commonly known as Ibrahim Nasir, was a Maldivians, Maldivian politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Maldives from 1957 to 1968 under the monarchy, a ...

, becoming the first female minister in the country. When the Majlis was due to elect a new president in 1978, it was widely believed that Haleem would have won if the constitution had not prevented women holding the post. She was elected for a second term in parliament in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, but turned down the position of Director of Social Affairs under new president

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...

. After Gayoom's election, Haleem was regularly detained by the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. She eventually went into exile in 1980; having visited Sri Lanka where her younger sister was receiving medical treatment, she was advised not to return as the government began arresting members of her family. On 1 April she was formally banished for four years on a charge of sedition. Her husband and children remained in the Maldives, and were banished to an outlying island. After the Maldivian government requested she be put under surveillance, she was asked to leave Sri Lanka and moved to London, where she stayed with a friend of her sister. Haleem was unable to work in the United Kingdom unless she requested political asylum, which she did not want to do, in case it impacted her family in the Maldives. Instead she relocated to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

to work at a hospital. Shortly after her move, the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

started and she returned to London for five months, before going back to Kuwait. After discovering that the Maldivian government's only aim was to stop her returning home, she was able to move to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in Sri Lanka, where she was joined by her children and mother. She eventually returned to the Maldives in 2008 after newly elected president

Mohamed Nasheed Mohamed Nasheed (; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (), is a Maldivians, Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Part ...

(who succeeded Gayoom) called her and told her she could come home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haleem, Moomina Living people 1939 births Date of birth unknown Maldivian nurses Members of the People's Majlis Maldivian women in politics Maldivian expatriates in Sri Lanka Maldivian expatriates in the United Kingdom Maldivian expatriates in Kuwait Women government ministers of the Maldives Recipients of the Order of Izzuddin Health ministers of the Maldives