Mothers and children in prison: NGOs help, but better implementation of policies needed
There are about 1,650 women prisoners with 1,867 children. The law states that the children of incarcerated mothers have to stay in prison with their mothers till the age of six if they are the primary caregiver.
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"WOMEN prisoners face far worse conditions than men in terms of access to basic facilities."
"Only 18 percent of female prisoners get exclusive women's prison facilities" due to which most have to stay in separate enclosures in general prisons.
"Functional women's prisons exist in just 15 states and Union territories."
These are just some of the damning statements from the Justice Amitava Roy Committee Report on prison reforms formed by the Supreme Court in 2018 that presented its findings this year.
Women make up a small minority of India's prisoners, out of more than five and a half lakh prisoners, 22,918 are women, according to the 2021 data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Of these, there were 1,650 women prisoners with 1,867 children, as of 2021. The law states that the children of incarcerated mothers have to stay in prison with their mothers till the age of six if they are the primary caregiver.
“Women make up a small minority of India's prisoners, out of more than five and a half lakh prisoners, 22,918 are women, according to 2021 data from the National Crime Records Bureau.
A minority of prisoners amongst a large population, the needs, rights and basic facilities required by women prisoners are often sidelined by prison authorities.
The Amitava Roy Committee Report found that less than 40 percent of prisons provided sanitary napkins to women. It also pointed out that except for Delhi, Goa and Pondicherry, no other state allowed women to meet their children without the presence of any bars or glass separation.
Speaking to Article 14, Sugandha Shankar, the Senior Programme Officer at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) points out, "The specific needs of women prisoners are often overlooked simply because women form a small proportion of the prison population."
Quoting prison studies conducted in the states of Haryana, Karnataka and Punjab by the CHRI, Shankar further goes on to say that "the majority of women prisoners are confined to women enclosures inside male prisons".
These prisoners "do not have access to basic prison facilities such as the prison library, the factory area, open spaces such as playgrounds, recreational areas and cannot engage in activities that men can easily access because they are part of the male section of the prison," says Shankar.
The facilities that mothers and their children need in prisons are often very low on the list of priorities of under-funded prison administrations across the country. Shankar pointed out in Article 14 that many prisons do not even have the facility for gynecologist or pediatrician visits.
The data on Indian mothers in prison
Number of women and children in Indian prisons
The latest edition of prison statistics released by the NCRB in 2021 shows a glaring picture of the condition of female inmates in India's prisons. One fact that stands out the most is that a majority of prisoners who are mothers are undertrials. There are 1,418 such inmate mothers, with 1,601 children who are yet to be convicted.
Occupancy rate of women prisoners in different types of jails
The national average statistics on overcrowding and occupancy rates for women in prisons are relatively low compared to the general average. However, when the lack of women-only jails and the state-wise occupancy rate of women prisoners in jails other than female-only jails are taken into account, the data becomes much starker.
“A minority of prisoners amongst a large population, the needs, rights and basic facilities required by women prisoners are often sidelined by prison authorities.
For example, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar all have more than 150 percent occupancy rate, Chhattisgarh is also near that percentage, and Jammu and Kashmir has also crossed 100 percent occupancy rate in female-only prisons.
How are civil society and NGOs leading the way?
The India Vision Foundation was established in 1994 by Dr Kiran Bedi, the first female police officer in India and the inspector-general at Tihar jail at the time.
Monica Dhawan, the director of India Vision Foundation, speaks about how the first creche in an Indian prison came to be, "Dr Bedi found in her field visits at Tihar that there were no educational and basic facilities for the children in the barracks."
"Seeing that, she initiated the first creche in the prison, and that is where our early childhood care and development programme started. We have been running the creche in Tihar jail for the past 29 years now," she says.
The foundation now runs creches in several jails in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. For women prisoners, the organisation has also facilitated recreation and skilling programmes.
Dhawan stresses on the importance of these creches and a well-built curriculum and methodology to help the children in the formative years of 0–6. Taking the foundation's example, she says that initiatives that seem small often have the biggest impact on inmates and their children.
These include exposure trips for the children, celebrating birthdays and festivals, and holding parent–teacher meetings in the creches where the inmates are told and shown what their child has been doing.
“A majority of prisoners who are mothers are undertrials. There are 1,418 such inmate mothers, with 1,601 children who are yet to be convicted.
Dhawan also points out, "We have created libraries with the help of prison administration, for example, an e-library in Tihar Jail for the women inmates and libraries in women wards in jails where we are working in Haryana."
Through 'Project Shakti', the organisation also provides gynecologist visits, menstrual health sessions and free menstrual products for all the women in the jails they are working in.
When asked whether the existing policies are sufficient for women prisoners, she replies, "There is no lack of policy, it has always been written in the prison manual that every women's ward or prison should have a creche.
"The only constraint that comes in is in the implementation of the policy. There is a gap in implementation because prison authorities do not have the resources, social workers or expertise to run the creches. They want to do it, but they don't have the ecosystem or resources to implement what is written in the prison manual."
Since prisons are a state subject, Dhawan points out that a lot lies in the hands of the director general in the state.
However, she points out that after 30 years in the field, in the last eight–nine years, "There is a noticeable and progressive change in the mindset of the prison administration. They have the intention and they are trying their level best to give more to the children, who are the most vulnerable."
Smita Dharmamer is the associate director at Aangan Trust, an organisation working on child safety and child rights in Maharashtra. The organisation has been active for two decades and began its work in shelter homes.
In February 2023, they started Maharashtra's first prison creche and daycare at the Byculla district prison, the only prison in Maharashtra that is only for women and children, and are now operating creches in four prisons across Pune, Nagpur and nasik through their 'Nanhi Kadam' project.
“The change has to be led by the policymakers. It has to be a mandate that these facilities are put in place and remain active on a daily basis for children. Someone has to ensure that they are evaluated on a regular basis.
Dharmamer notes that when they approached the additional director general of police of prison and correctional services, Amitabh Gupta, after they set up the first creche, he was keen to implement it in all prisons in the state.
"We did not have the bandwidth or funding for that. We promised him that we would start four and give him the methodology and checklist for implementation in other jails," she says.
A lack of funding means that the prison departments can only provide space within the prison, basic facilities such as electricity and running water, and the support needed for these creches, according to her. Monetary support for the creches run by the Aangan Trust comes mostly from fundraisers by civil society and some from corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and other sources.
Conclusion
In 2023, there remains an inherent inequality for women inmates and their children in India's prisons. The access to creches, basic facilities and other amenities for the nurturing of children depends on how active non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society are in their jails. Some jails have moved forward in a progressive manner while others are still stuck without resources and space.
Monica Dhawan addresses this gap, pointing out that the onus lies on the policymakers and other stakeholders.
"The change has to be led by the policymakers. It has to be a mandate that these facilities are put in place and remain active on a daily basis for children. Someone has to ensure that they are evaluated on a regular basis.
"The process requires different stakeholders. If a child stays in jail till the age of six, whatever the child needs in its formative years, it has to be made mandatory at the policy level that those things are provided on a daily basis. That is our wishlist, and we hope that it happens," she says.
