In 2013, people were protesting against the coup government and fought for the right to a free and fair election. Protestors were pepper sprayed at close range and arrested unlawfully countless times. Justice was breached every day through the use of Police and the Supreme Court. The election was held, and then annulled before a second round. Five tries later Maldivian votes finally counted but it was believed by many that it was neither free nor fair.

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom came into power.

By late 2014 activist and journalist Ahmed Rilwan had been abducted and there were allegations of state involvement, and in 2015 all opposition leaders were jailed on charges of terrorism. President Yameen turned on his own cabinet as well, charging and jailing his second Vice President, Defence Minister, and sacking several other high ranking members of government. His blatant revisions of the law to further his own agenda and hinder the rights of the people meant that protests became an everyday occurrence. Freedom of speech was obstructed by a new Defamation Act in 2016, blogger and activist Yameen Rasheed was murdered in 2017 and a mayday protest detainee died in jail while several other activists and journalists were in exile due to threats.

By 2018 Maldivians had all but given up hope. Despite the belief that the election would not be held or would be manipulated to get the result that President Yameen wanted at any cost, the Maldivian people queued up for hours ignoring all obstructions and delays to exercise their right to vote. The result was a clear win for the opposition making the Maldivian Democratic Party Candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih the next President of the Maldives. The gathering on the street that night was of a completely different mood, of an elation that seemed unattainable only a few hours ago.

The news was impossibly beautiful and every moment spent protesting, getting pepper sprayed, beaten up, and tear gassed seemed worth it. But not everyone made it this far. Here’s to the fallen ones, lost on the way. The ones who spoke out despite the reign of fear, The loved ones who aren’t here today. Here’s to justice and better days.