The distressing reality of women prisoners in India

The Covid-19 pandemic has been particularly unkind to women. Among the most adversely affected have been India’s women prisoners. Though they constitute a small proportion of the prison population, their conditions — hardly conducive at the best of times — have gone largely unnoticed.

In this context, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), NV Ramana’s recent remarks that, “as a welfare State, we are obligated to provide women prisoners with programmes and services that enable them to effectively reintegrate into society, on an equal basis with men,” is welcome.

According to the Prison Statistics India Report 2019, most women in Indian prisons are illiterate or semi-literate. About 85% of them are from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. They lack legal awareness (especially those from rural areas) and have little access to bail, or even lawyers.

The system of mulakat — in which both lawyers and family could visit women prisoners — has all but been done away with, thanks to Covid-19. Vijay Raghavan, professor, Centre for Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who runs Prayas, an initiative dealing with prisoners in Maharashtra and Gujarat, says that from March 2020, trials have virtually stopped.

“This has led to an increase in the period of incarceration for women languishing in jail. The loss of family contact affects their mental well-being deeply. They are constantly worried about their children, whom they cannot see now.” In many cases, the woman prisoner is the sole caregiver for her children, with the father either absent or dysfunctional.

According to the National Alliance on Prison Reforms, which deals with prisoner rights, the main problem is bail. Most women do not know their rights or even that they are entitled to bail depending on the offence.

In fact, many of them cannot even apply for bail as they do not have the necessary documentation or family members who are willing or able to stand as surety. Raghavan suggests that the government could consider accepting a social organisation standing as surety for bail or furlough for women prisoners. In this time of Covid-19, women over the age of 60, pregnant women, and those with co-morbidities and terminal illnesses could be considered for release.

There are several ways to help women prisoners — a liberal application of bail; easier access to legal help; special fast-track courts and rehabilitation facilities.

Maja Daruwala, senior adviser to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, feels that given the vulnerabilities of women prisoners, jail authorities, legal aid workers, and social workers can easily coordinate to ensure release, bail or, at least, ameliorate hardship for them.

Shereen Sadiq, professor, sociology department, Aligarh Muslim University, says that formalities for bail or furlough should be simplified.

She says, “Even when they are released, whether on bail or altogether, the problem they face is that there are hardly any halfway houses for them to reintegrate into society. Often their families do not want them. One way to help them would be to release immediately the money they earned doing jobs in prison with the government providing an additional amount so they can sustain themselves till they find a job.”

Covid-19 has forced the restructuring of several facets of society, many for the better. The State should heed CJI’s words and consider measures to improve the situation for women prisoners. Do not let them be marginalised any more than have been.