Need to bring prison reforms in context of women inmates: NCW chief

Delivering the valedictory address at the two-day Fifth National Conference of Heads of Prisons of States and Union Territories on Prison Reforms, National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam on Friday said the Commission will share best practices with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) for bringing about the prison reforms, especially in the context of women inmates.

She said the NCW and BPR&D can work together to extend the legal aid, rehabilitation and grievance redressal related to women prisoners.

Stating that rehabilitation of marginalised sections is very difficult, Kumaramangalam added that the NCW has developed training modules and women's participation in panchayats, which can also be beneficial to the authorities dealing with women inmates.

BPR&D Director General Dr. Meeran Borwankar said rehabilitation issues of women inmates and their minor children are critical since as many as 4.2 percent of total prisoners in the country are women.

The Conference also passed 12 resolutions, including changing the nomenclature of prisons to correctional administration or correctional homes, creation of Probation Officers vacancies, appointment of Welfare Officers, Counsellors and Law Officers, adoption of the Model Prisons Act, linking of prisons with courts through video conferencing and integrating prison e-system with the CCTNS project.

The delegates later visited the Tihar Jail, which is the largest prison complex in the country, to see the best practices and systems in use there.