Monday October 17, 2016
Kabul (BNA) There are numerous problems and shortages in Afghanistan jails but the problems are more urgent in females prisons than male ones.
In some provinces the female prisoners are even deprived of their primary human rights including lack of proper shelter, food, medical facilities etc. even in some provinces there are no female prisons and female prisoners are kept and accommodated in the houses of local tribal leaders. Legal, judicial sources and human rights advocate bodies are also careless and indifferent to problems of female prisoners. Lack of special security measures, lack of heating and cooling instruments for rooms during summer and winter, lack of physical, mental security for women prisoners, shortage of lawyers and female attorneys, low level of women awareness on their rights unfair approach who dessert home, imprisonment of children beside their mothers increase of mental problem and depression are urgent challenges ahead of female prisoners that should be immediately tackled.
According to Reuter’s news agency, most of women prisoners are kept or accommodated in the houses of local tribe leaders in Paktika province. This issue has also been confirmed by some law makers. Expressing serious concern on the situation of these women, these law makers said that they have no security and may be abused in some cases.
Female senator Fawzia Sadat told the media that women prisoners are kept in the houses of local tribal leaders due to lack of proper jails.
Female law maker Breshna Rabea said, we have visited some of these female jails, the situation of women prisoners are strongly concerning and prisoners are vulnerable. Some women are in prisons for long time and no one take care of their cases and in some cases women have been imprisoned without studying their crime. These law makers said that houses of local tribal leaders are in no case suitable for young prisoner women because beside other problems, their dignity is posed to risk. Most of them have to work for the house owners.
According to Joya a women rights activist, many young prisoners girls even with slight crime, have been kept by house owners for long time under different pretexts. The MoI authorities have also confirmed existence of these problems. But on the keeping of women prisoners in the houses of tribal leaders they said that investigations are underway on this issue and in Paktika province, this issue would be seriously prosecuted. MoI spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi said that in most provinces male and female jails are separated and they try to tackle problems of female prisoners. Consequences: Bad situation of female prisoners and lack of on time assessment of their cases by relevant legal-judicial bodies produces dangerous consequences. As the first and most important consequence could be violation of their children’s rights especially young innocent children who cannot live without their mothers.