Abstract:
This research aims to assess the prevailing conditions in women jails across Punjab to
see whether the international standards of treatment are being adopted to ensure the
rights of women prisoners. The study is motivated by two questions. Firstly it inquires
whether the Punjab Prison’s Code is in line in international standards, and
implemented in its true spirit in reality. Secondly it asks whether prison conditions
affect the physical and mental wellbeing of women prisoners. The study offers three
hypotheses based on these questions: (1) The Punjab Prison Manual satisfies the
necessary prison conditions and rehabilitation mechanism stated in the United Nations
Bangkok Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for
Women Offenders (2) An implementation gap exists between the Punjab Prison Manual
and the actual prison conditions in central jails of Punjab, (3) Prisoner treatment and
prison conditions directly impact the prisoner’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Previous literature indicates how adverse prison conditions have led to the
deterioration of physical and mental wellbeing of prisoners, and how aspects of prison
conditions like food, space, and lighting have been compromised in Pakistani jails. Our
most important contribution is devising a research design that is representative and a
research analysis that is extensive enough to understand the complex dynamics of
Punjab’s women prisons. This thesis followed an extensive data collection mechanism
that involved observing the prison conditions in the women sections of 6 central jails in
Punjab and using data gathered from interviewing 144 women prisoners to analyse the
physical and mental wellbeing of women prisoners and test all three hypotheses. We
employed both quantitative methods (like cross tabbing, frequency analysis, weighted
average scoring) and qualitative methods (like implementation assessment scales, and
comparative analysis). At the end, the paper outlines recommendations on how current
situation of Pakistan prison system can be improved. The recommendations draw
inspiration from the best practices that are being implemented in advanced areas of the
world and practical ways that Pakistan can adopt them in jails across Punjab.
