Care work collides with earning
Women typically receive custody of younger children, creating full responsibility for childcare alongside the need to earn. Affordable childcare is limited – there are only seven day care centres in the Maldives, six of them in the greater Malé region – school hours do not align with full-time work, and extended family support is not always available. Female labour force participation stands at approximately 48 to 53% against 80 to 89% for men, and by age 35 women are six times more likely than men to be out of employment, education, and training.
Housing splits by geography
In Malé, many households rent, and divorce-related housing displacement is common. In the atolls most women own their homes, so displacement is rarer – but women returning to family homes can face support that is uncertain, conditional, or unsafe.
The psychological toll is measurable
A 2021 study found 46.7% of divorced Maldivian women reporting high stress levels, with lack of employment, rent pressures, dependence on others for child support, and the divorce process itself among the drivers. Recent research with divorced women in Greater Malé found private counselling unaffordable and public-sector counselling fully booked months in advance.
Key facts
- Child support payment delays of eight months or more are typical in the Maldives.
- There are only seven day care centres in the Maldives; six are in the greater Malé region.
- A 2021 study found 46.7% of divorced Maldivian women reporting high stress levels.
- By age 35, Maldivian women are six times more likely than men to be out of employment, education, and training.
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