Women are discriminated against even inside prisons
The decision by Tihar authorities to launch a semiopen jail inside the complex for women inmates is a good move
The month of August has brought cheer on the faces of six women inmates lodged in Tihar. For the first time in the history of Tihar, women inmates who have completed 12 years of imprisonment with a good track record are expecting to be transferred to the semi-open jail in the premises of the Tihar complex. Tihar is the largest prison complex in South Asia and is one of the most overcrowded of prisons in India.
There are about 570 women prisoners lodged in Tihar of which 125 are convicts. Inmates who will now be shifted to the new jail will help run the system of the same jail without under constant surveillance of the staff. These women will be allowed to move freely within the prison complex but will not be allowed to leave the prison complex unlike the inmates who are shifted to the open jail. If any prisoner defies the law, the jail will have the right to send them back to the regular prison.
Data released by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2015 reveal that out of 3,800 inmates in open prisons, 109 are women. There are 63 open jails, of which only four are for women in Yerawada, Thiruvanathapuram, Durgapura and Sanganer.
This itself is a testimony of how we treat women behind bars too. Delhi is the third state after Rajasthan and Maharashtra to start a semi-open jail for women. The logic behind the semi-open jail or an open-jail is to help the inmates gradually get back into society before their release. They operate without having rigid walls and provide adequate freedom to the inmates. While semi-open jail prisoners are not permitted to leave the prison, an openjail allows inmates to spend the entire day outside and come back by the end of it. In many circumstances, they are permitted to stay with their families. This system is helpful in reforming and rehabilitating the inmates.
While the action taken by Tihar authorities is a welcome step, we cannot ignore the fact that women are discriminated against even inside the prisons. Before the intervention by the courts, prison authorities almost all across India felt that opening of spaces for women inmates will bring with it multiple problems. Their arguments ignored the fact that disallowing eligible women to enter into the open jails will bring in tougher situations for those who have already reached the last leg of their term and are reformed and certainly deserve to live a better life in the same manner as it is allowed to their male counterparts. We still have a long way to go to bring in equality for women. Delhi’s Tihar can act as the torchbearer for other states by setting an example of justice, neutrality and fairness. Many a times we feel dejected when we fail or things do not happen as per our plans. However we should remember that failures are stepping stones to success and hence we should not lose heart. In the most competitive workplace in the world - Silicon Valley - failure is encouraged, and there is no social stigma attached to it. On the contrary, it is considered a badge of honour, because it shows that you have learnt important lessons. They call this the Silicon Valley Syn-