Officers of the Maldives Police Service's special operations unit, who have acted as riot police at the nightly demonstrations held in capital city Malé, were deployed to suppress a march in capital city Malé calling for gender equality. 

The march was organized by members of the Maldivian Democratic Party's women's branch along with their allied parties in commemoration on Women's Day, and the 'Joint Opposition' has maintained that the march is not political.

Officers cordoned them off behind barricades, and women gathered there held up signs that read 'bridge the gap' and 'sexual harrassment'.

Shifa Mohamed, mayor of capital city Malé, condemned the police's actions, denouncing them as unnecessary and a meer show of force. 

The Maldives Police Service had put up barricades, cordoned off roads and altered traffic ahead of the march, which began at 06:45 on Thursday morning. 

Officers of the police were ordered into the crowd in order to have the march dispersed.