HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN PRISONERS IN INDIA

The Constitution of India grants equal rights to women and various laws have been enacted to protect and empower women. While some women have definitely benefited from these provisions and have occupied highest positions in political system but for majority of poor and illiterate women life still remains a continuous struggle in a very traditional, patriarchal and feudal society. Customs and practices like female infanticide, neglect, illiteracy, child marriage, dowry, repeated pregnancies, unattended child birth, wife battering, bride burning, honour killing, rape, molestation, eve teasing, denial of property etc are indicators of position of women in Indian society. Thus Indian society harbours a clear bias against women but the situation worsens if women happen to be in prison either as convicts or as under trials. For then they are branded as bad women who deserve bad treatment. This combined with their total dependence of prison officials, corruption, lack of resources and lack of work culture further worsens their condition. Present work is an attempt at presenting before the world the condition of women prisoners in India in the context of their human rights.