Early morning photographs of Male during Ramadan 2012

Western Male, Maldives, backstreet corner

The back streets of Male the Maldivian capital are rarely visited by tourists or other foreigners apart from the thousands of Bangladeshis and Indians who service the city.

Male has not been planned for human habitation. It is a maze of narrow streets lined with shops, and tenements designed for maximum rental returns.

Walls are often covered in graffiti, and footpaths are an afterthought; motorised traffic has had legal right of way over pedestrians since 1975. Men ride motorbikes while women and children walk. The rich and powerful move through the streets unseen behind darkened glass in expensive cars.

Just after dawn, people have left the streets. Only the mannequins stare.