Yaana* is happily married. But since moving back home, she has found herself missing the close circle of girlfriends she had wherever she lived.
“Romantic companionship and friendship fulfil different parts of our lives, and one cannot necessarily replace the other,” she said.
She’s not alone. A consultant psychiatrist at Hulhumalé Hospital says his adult patients, especially women, are struggling to find connections. Older patients complain their children don’t visit and teenagers find themselves shut out of friend groups without knowing why.
There’s no national data on loneliness in the Maldives. But the dozen people we spoke to described what gets in the way: friendships that fade after school, marriage and children, moving between islands, strict rules for women and few free places to meet.
Read the full story: https://maldivesindependent.com/society/easier-said-than-done-making-friends-as-an-adult-in-the-maldives-3a22
*Name changed
