Women prison overcrowded

KARACHI, Jan 26: About 236 women prisoners, with their 48 children, are lodged against a capacity of 105 prisoners at the women’s prison Karachi, Ms. Sheeba Shah, Superintendent Karachi Women Prison said.

Giving away certificates to the participants at the concluding session of a two-day sensitization training on human rights, organized by the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, at a local hotel in Karachi, Ms Sheeba Shah informed that during her four-year tenure, she identified the core problems and tried to make the women prison a model jail.

“The prolonged litigation procedure and non-availability of guards to produce them have resulted in an increase in the number of depression cases among women prisoners.”

She viewed that while imposing surety amount on any women prisoner, the court should take into consideration the financial position of the person and added that women have been languishing in prison for long due to the non-availability of surety amount.

Dr. Musarrat Hussain, head of the psychiatry department of the JPMC, and Manzoor Ahmed from LHRLA also spoke. During the two-day training, participants also shared their work regarding rehabilitation of prisoners.

The participants included Aneesa Sattar from APWA, Adeeba Yazdani from Al-Huda, Parveen Iqbal, Tayyeba Maher and Rubina Idrees. Ms. Sheeba Shah, Superintendent Women Prison and Zia Ahmed Awan, President, Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, distributed certificates among participants.

Source: Dawn

Date:1/27/2004