Dhaka court jail a den of harassment for women inmates for lack of separate cell

The lack of separate facilities for women in Dhaka court jail makes it an easy den for harassment of female inmates on a regular basis.

From vulgar innuendos to outright loud abuses and even groping, women inmates are open, unprotected and vulnerable to all these and anything else that the predatory instincts of male inmates can unleash on them.

The law-enforcing agencies watch helplessly and do whatever little that can be done to protect the modesty of the women inside the protection of the jail where the law is supposed to be their custodian.

This grim picture of life for women inmates inside the jail was revealed to bdnews24.com through conversations with officials of the jail, advocates, and others.

Police’s crime, information  and prosecution wing Additional Deputy Commissioner Aminur Rahman accepted that the rot does exist but said that there is no plan to build a separate enclave for women inmates at present.

He however added that a suitable spot for the purpose has been located below the staircase of the Dhaka Sessions Judge’s Court.

“We are inching close to solving the problem”, he said.

Placed under the supervision of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the main jail is located on the right side of the building that houses the court of the Chief City Magistrate.

The court lane jail is located close to all major courts of Dhaka.

According to figures supplied by the police, about a thousand suspects are brought to the various courts on a daily basis.

On an average, about 50-60 women are produced as suspects before the various courts every day.

There are three cells for cases relating to the court of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge. None of them is exclusively for women.

Jail in charge M Islam spoke to bdnews24.com sharing his bitter experiences managing the inmates.

He said that in order to keep women inmates from harm’s way, they are forced to keep them waiting, often standing in the veranda.

The lavatory wall here does not touch the ceiling, leaving a wide gap which becomes a major source of problem for the women prisoners.

He emphasized the need to have special cells for women inmates.

However police personnel formerly associated with the jail, SI Murad Hussain said there was no need for separate arrangements for women as their modesty was fully protected here.

His views were echoed in ditto by current jail staffer SI Ruhul Amin.

However, advocates have also shared bitter experiences that women inmates had to undergo.

National Women Advocates’ Association member Fahmida Akhtar Rinki  has spoken about the harassment faced by women prisoners at the jail, and during their movement to court.

She said that during the recent trail of an Ahsanullah University teacher in a sexual harassment case, five women witnesses had come to record their statements.

They were made to sit on the veranda and became the object of lustful eyes of male prisoners, she said. “One can begin to imagine what they would have to go through if they were sent to custody”, she said.

Association chief Salma Ali said that an educated woman client had recently narrated to her the horrific condition for women that the jail presents.

“The benches are dirty, filthy bathrooms, it is all full of noise, male inmates make lewd comments aloud, it is not at all fit for women”, Ali quoted the client as saying.

The client also requested that the Association make a demand for a separate jail for women.

Emphasising the need for better arrangement for women in the jail, senior advocate Dulal Mitra recalled the 18 year old incident of the horrific rape of a 5 year old girl in the jail.