Getting imprisoned doesn’t mean losing all your rights. Several Articles of the Indian Constitution still hold valid even for prisoners. Without focusing on that, just like in the outside world, where it is the right of each woman to get access to sanitation facilities and menstrual hygiene products, the same should hold true inside prisons as well. However, when it comes to Indian prisons, that is anything but true.
A report by News18 gives an insight into what it’s like to be a menstruating woman in an Indian prison in Punjab. It revealed how inmates had to pay Rs 10 each for a packet of sanitary napkins. The sanitary napkins in itself are of questionable quality, failing to meet the size or quantity standards.
Such conditions are a running theme when it comes to Indian prisons. In 2019, a study by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Haryana State Legal Services Authority revealed the dire state of hygiene and health services in the prisons of Haryana. The report titled Inside Haryana Prisons touched upon the lack of consideration by prison staff when it came to their menstrual needs.
It revealed how there weren’t any permanent female doctors in any of the prisons that the report had studied. This isn’t surprising, as the Prisons Statistics report revealed that only half of the vacancies for medical officers were filled in 2018. Referring to the district jail of Karnal, it revealed that none of the women were being provided sanitary napkins.
While the report in question specifically studied prisons in Haryana, sadly, the situation isn’t any better for women jailed in any other prison of the country. A research study titled Women In Prisons-India gives an insight into how it is like to be a menstruating woman in any of India’s many prisons located throughout its topography. A quick look at the report shows how, in Indian prisons, provision of water and menstrual hygiene products are serious concerns. However, even before that, Indian prisons, which are a mirror of society, continue to be tough places for women in India.
Even In Prisons, Patriarchy Looms Over The Heads Of Indian Women
While the inequality between men and women and the raging disparity in how Indian men and women are treated in society has been discussed for some time now, the same notions creep into our prisons as well.
Angela Sontakey, having spent time in Nagpur Central Jail and Gondia sub-jail before being moved to Byculla, revealed to The Hindu in an interview how men and women are treated differently in Indian prisons. She spoke about how while men can go freely to the judicial department, women cannot. She also revealed how some Indian prisons doubt the inmates when they request for sanitary napkins, asking women to strip to prove that they’re menstruating.
In another instance shared by Sontakey, she revealed that even the quantity of food given to men and women inmates is different. Patriarchy is evident even in so-called prison reform programmes. While men are taught carpentry, leadership development and how to deliver speeches, women are taught activities such as sewing, knitting, embroidery, rangoli, painting and making decorative items, and beauty parlour services.
The Dire Circumstances Women In Prisons Have To Face
Menstruation in India, even under ordinary circumstances, is a taboo. In prisons, however, the phenomenon gets much more difficult to manage. A prisoner from Mysuru Central jailed revealed how she was forced to collect her sanitary pads in plastic bags and throw them in the common dustbin. The practice itself violates several health standards for safe disposal and is unhygienic for everyone involved.
Another revealed how they were forced to make their own pads from old clothes. Even in prisons, there are socio-cultural barriers Indian women face to see. A prisoner revealed how since she was visited by her brother or father in prison, she couldn’t get around to asking them for sanitary pads.
A Sanitary Napkin Is A Luxury For Women In Prisons
To give you an insight into why there is a need for adequate menstrual hygiene management in prisons, it is important to understand the demography of our prisons. A majority of women prisoners in India are in the ages of 18-50 years (81.8%). This means that four out of every five women prisoners need to have their menstrual hygiene needs looked for. This involves providing them with sanitary napkins as per their requirement.
However, the ground reality is far from that. As the Women In Prisons report revealed, women are reportedly charged for their sanitary napkins. In some cases, a specific quota of napkins is given to each woman. This means that irrespective of their menstrual needs, women have to make do with what they’re given. Faced with a shortage of napkins and no other option left, women have to resort to using unhygienic materials such as cloth, ash, pieces of old mattresses and newspapers during their time in prison.
Lack Of Water And Gender-Specific Facilities
It is common knowledge that clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are essential prerequisites that allow women to practice menstrual hygiene. However, that is a luxury women in Indian prisons don’t seem to have. A 2015 report expounds the challenge in front of us today. It says: “There seems to be a lack of water-based flush type toilets in jails.”
In some states including Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the shortage of said toilets was as high as 50%. Another report revealed how women are not considered important enough to account for when it comes to policy reforms and laws for prisoners. This is because the proportion of Indian women in prisons is small — women constitute 4.3% of all the prisoners in India. This ensures that coverage of facilities such as sanitary napkins and pre- and post-natal care for pregnant mothers remains ineffective.
The state of women in Indian prisons shows that there’s a long way to go when it comes to achieving equality in all spheres of life. The fact that women’s menstrual, health and sanitation needs are so grossly ignored only serves as a reminder to the degree of the problem at hand. Therefore, when menstrual hygiene management reforms are discussed, the state of women in prisons must be kept in mind to develop suitable reforms for their well-being.