Punjab government has prepared a draft to amend the Prison Rules, under which women prisoners will be provided the opportunity to get basic education and borrow books from education centres established in prisons.
Several rules and sub-clauses have been included in the Punjab Prison Rules 2020.
Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar had expressed his intention to reform prison rules last year. Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat formed a working group led by PTI MPA Aisha Nawaz Chaudhry, which reviewed the rules along with the stakeholders and proposed amendments. The meetings were attended by representatives of the civil society, prison officials and advocate general.
The newly prepared rules propose that illiterate women prisoners should be encouraged to obtain education. An education centre shall be established where a professional teacher shall teach the women prisoners. Books may also be borrowed daily for one hour from the centre.
A vocational training centre shall be established for women in the prisons in collaboration with any department overseeing technical education. "Female convicted prisoners shall ordinarily be employed in activities that contribute to their socio-economic rehabilitation and psychological well-being such as, but not limited to spinning, embroidery making, designing of clothes, painting of walls, cards, sceneries, newar making, cooking, gardening, teaching, management of library etc. and shall, whenever possible, be given instructions in needle work, knitting and other domestic industries. They shall not be employed on physically irksome work. Females should also be allowed to avail other forms of employment such as cooking and gardening which allow them to earn wages."
In case the government decides not to suspend or remit the sentence of a prisoner during pregnancy under Rule 322, the superintendent shall make arrangements for medical checkup by a gynaecologist at least once in a month.
There shall be a daycare and nursery school attached to a prison where the children of prisoners shall be looked after. Children below three years of age shall be allowed in the daycare centre and those between three and six years shall be looked after in the nursery. The facilities and services shall be regularly monitored by the medical superintendent of the district headquarters hospital, members of notified prison oversight committees and the Child Protection Bureau.
Under the new rules, prison visits involving children shall take place in a child-conducive environment. Children in prison may be allowed, with the consent of their mother, to meet with their relatives. If a child visits his mother in prison, prison staff shall permit close contact without a security wire mesh between the child and the mother.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2020.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ