One of the three Maldivian girls displaced in India returns home

One of the three Maldivian girls who were put in an orphanage in India by their Indian mother, under the pretense that their Maldivian father had died, arrived back in Maldives on Wednesday night.

Yasra Abdulla arrived at Velana International Airport at around 7:45 pm on Wednesday, with her grandfather, Mohamed Naeem. Her father was at the airport to receive his eldest child, who had returned to Maldives after four years.

While the 12-year-old returned on Wednesday night, her sisters, 10-year-old Aminath Nasra and seven-year-old Mariyam Naura are still in India, with the mother. Yasra was only allowed to travel to Maldives after her mother gave the permission to do so.

The three girls, who have spoken to RaajjeTV, have said that they wished to return to the Maldives.

RaajjeTV's Wisam with the children's grandfather Mohamed Naeem

Maldivian authorities were only able to give the case any attention after a special documentary, investigated by RaajjeTV’s Mohamed Wisam, was aired on March 31, despite the fact that these were Maldivian children, carrying Maldivian identity cards and passports.

The children’s mother, Saeed Ali Fathima took them to India in 2013 for holidays, and refused to return after arriving there. Over a year ago, she placed the three girls in an orphanage, under the pretense that their father had died.

A family member of Fathima informed the children’s father, Abdulla Basheer where his children were, a year after they were put in the orphanage.

Their father, Basheer's happiness at having one of his daughters back was seen on his face

Basheer and their grandfather, Naeem were able to get them released from there, with the help of the Maldivian Consulate in India, who despite the circumstances decided to hand the children to Fathima.

Basheer and Naeem had told the officials that they wanted to take the children back to Maldives, who denied the request, instead threatening to report them to the Indian authorities. Basheer was also forced to sign a document acknowledging the Consulate’s decision to hand the children over to the mother.

Since the documentary aired, authorities, including the Foreign Ministry and Gender Ministry, have said that they are working to ensure the safety of the girls, as well as to find a solution for the matter.