look news india
The number of women in jails worldwide is increasing at a worrying rate. A recent report has shown that millions of women are going to jail due to poverty, misconduct and discriminatory laws. According to the report, many strict laws against women are criminals, while the reality is that they are victims of social inequality and policy failure.
The number of women in jail has increased.
Currently, more than 733,000 women worldwide are in jail. Women’s imprisonment rate is growing much faster than male prisoners. Since 2000, the number of female prisoners has increased by 57%, while the number of male prisoners has increased by only 22%. The report on this will be officially released on 17 March.
Poverty and helplessness became the reason for crime
The report states that many women are in jail for minor crimes, such as stealing food for children, begging or working informally. In some countries, women are put in jail because they are not able to repay their debt, which is a violation of the International Human Rights Act. In countries like Sierra Leone, women are punished for allegations like “fraud” and “getting money from false excuses”. These laws belong to the Larceney Act of the colonial period, which became a means of exploitation of women. Additionally, many women are forced to sell body trade and drugs to be a victim of domestic violence or to maintain their family. But instead of understanding and improving their situation, they are being criminals.
Biased law against women
Even today, in many countries around the world, women are punished under the old laws of colonial period. Issues such as abortion, suicide attempt and homosexual relationship are considered crimes in many places. Not only this, women are also put in jail on charges of superstitions like witchcraft, especially women who do not sit in line with the established norms of the society, such as widows, divorced or childless women.
Punishment on clothes and dress
The report also states that many countries have strict laws regarding the dress of women. For example, in May 2022, Jambian businessman and social media affected, Iris Kingu was arrested on charges of abusive clothes as she wore a black dress at a fashion program. Getting out without hijab in Iran was already a crime, but under the new law, “promoting nudity, abusive clothes or inappropriate dress” can be sentenced to 15 years of jail or even death penalty.
What should be the solution?
The report warns that if this trend continues, then the number of female prisoners can soon cross one million. It is recommended to take some steps to stop this:
- Data related to women criminals should be widely compiled and analyzed.
- Alternative measures should be adopted instead of jail sentence for minor offenses.
- Laws that violate human rights and international standards should be abolished.