Gender Minister Aishath Mohamed Didi says daycare services haven't been established in Male' because of space constraints in the capital city.
The Minister said this in her written reply to a query made by the MP for Hinnavaru Constituency Jeehan Mahmood.
MP Jeehan has asked about building daycare centers as per the government's strategic plan to resolve the major issues facing women in the workplace.
In her reply, Minister said that the Ministry made several attempts to build daycare centers in Male as per the government's strategic action plan.
She said that the Ministry held several discussions with relevant government agencies and that these discussions were carried out between 2021 to March of this year.
But she said that with the space constraints in Male', the Ministry was unable to secure a location to develop such services in the capital.
Minister Aishath further said that the Ministry was exploring other methods to offer options to working mothers and developing childcare spaces in the work environment itself was one such avenue.
She mentioned that such discussions were carried out between the Ministry and the President's Office and that the proposal was submitted to the Social Council. The Minister said that it had ordered that this be implemented and that the Ministry was now holding separate discussions with state-owned companies.
