Unlike male inmates, female ones do not have to sleep on floor: prisons IG

Nusrat Mangan says they have provided them with charpoys

KARACHI: We have ensured that not even a single female prisoner should sleep on the floor as we have provided them with charpoys. Meanwhile, male prisoners have to sleep on the floor.

Prisons IG Nusrat Mangan said this while addressing a small ceremony at Central Jail Karachi on Thursday. The event was organised by the Legal Aid Office, a government-funded, non-profit organisation that works specifically for the welfare of prisoners.

According to Mangan, they have four prisons specifically for women in the province. None of them are overpopulated even though male prisons are highly overpopulated. He said the lesser load of population in women prisons helps them manage affairs in a better manner.

added that prisons in Sindh are comparatively better as the prison authorities ensure the provision of better facilities, including schools for inmates' children.

Legal Aid Office Chairperson Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid said that ever since they established the organisation, they have successfully resolved more than 800 cases, involving women prisoners who are not only Pakistani but foreigners as well.

Zahid was of the view that their organisation is committed to working for the welfare of prisoners and provides free legal aid and representation to impoverished inmates across the province of Sindh. He added that they must now also focus on rehabilitation of the prisoners, including male prisoners.



The chief guest of the ceremony, special assistant to the CM on women development, Erum Khalid, said that she has been visiting prisons in Sindh for quite some time. She said she was glad to see the facilities provided to the female prisoners.

Sharing the account of her conversation with one of the female inmates, Khalid said that the prisoner did not want to get out of the prison even after completion of punishment since she was not sure if she would get such a 'family atmosphere, electricity and water' back home.

Talking about women development, Khalid added that their government and Sindh Assembly have passed bills that were lauded by everyone. She recalled the domestic violence bill and early child marriage bill but added that even though we are in the right direction, we will do more for the development of women.



She added that seniors such as Justice Zahid have been guiding them for long and expressed hope to coordinate more with the Legal Aid Office in the future. Khalid expressed that the atmosphere in the women's prisons needs to be spread to prisons across Sindh.

In the end, Justic Arif Khilji, the advisor of Legal Aid Society - sister organisation of Legal Aid Office - advised that skill development programmes should be introduced in prisons. He explained that instead of a prisoner joining his criminal gang once again, he should be taught about skills such as mobile repairing so that he can earn for himself.