Smile and Let Smile

Some changes reshape our lives quietly. Others reshape the fabric of a nation.

This is why I believe we must be deeply careful, and deeply thoughtful, before altering long-standing systems that hold our communities together. Whether it is a change in school uniforms or a restructuring of how our islands are administered, the principle is the same: do not rush changes that carry a national cost – financially, socially, or culturally – without sufficient discussion, debate, and public ownership.

I remembered this today as I read President Nasheed’s comments on the “unnecessary cost” of new school uniforms. I only wish the same sensitivity had been shown back in 2009, when we dismantled the traditional system of katheebs and atoll chiefs: roles rooted in our heritage, our identity, and our sense of community leadership.

What Maldivians wanted at the time was simple: to elect their katheebs and atoll chiefs, never was there any desire from the people to replace the entire system with a new, costly, foreign structure that many islands were neither prepared for nor consulted on. But, a model was imposed that introduced financial strain, administrative confusion, and layers of governance that still feel alien in many communities.

Today, as the nation debates school uniforms, I am reminded of a bigger truth:

Policy is not just policy: it touches our wallets, our identities, our heritage, our belonging. And when decisions are made without listening to the people, without honouring our own story, they create more disruption than progress.

We have to learn from our past and choose dialogue over imposition. Every reform, big or small, should honour the fabric of the nation.

Smile and let smile.