Plight of women in Pak prisons 'A Nightmare for Everyone': HRW Report

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 3 (ANI): The plight of women prisoners in Pakistan is among the least discussed topics even though the females go through serious issues including physical, mental, and above-all family issues including children born in jails, reported The Nation.

Pakistani prisons are one of the most overcrowded ones in the world, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, prison cells that were designed for a maximum of three people were reportedly holding up to 15 inmates on an average.

Meanwhile, the female prisoners and their worsening condition were highlighted in a report, 'A Nightmare for Everyone,' as per The Nation, an English-language daily based in Lahore.

The report stated, "Women in the criminal justice system routinely experience prejudice, discrimination, and abuse, and face enormous difficulties accessing health care."The report talked about one of the most important, yet least talked about topics, women's menstruation hygiene.

One of the female prisoners said, "It is extremely difficult for us to speak about menstruation to a male prison official due to social taboos and embarrassment."The rights body also talks about the most important thing for Pakistani society, the "honour," reported The Nation. The women prisoners are abandoned by their families in Pakistan and prison officials also know about this and take full advantage of it.

They say, "No one comes to visit them and hence the prison authorities know that no one is willing to pay any (bribe) money for their better treatment."Another report talks about how female inmates are kept away from any sort of legal assistance.

"Even in the bigger cities female inmates do not receive timely legal aid, which deprives them of the right to bail and their cases linger on for years," said Syeda Farah Hashmi, head of an NGO working for the rights of women inmates.

Inspector General Prison, Mirza Shahid, confirmed such reports saying, "There is no check and balance mechanism in the prisons, leading to privacy violations and even sexual harassment of female prisoners," The Nation reported. (ANI)