Opportunities for Women in Prison

including candle-making...

I came across this post a short while ago which talks about "Opportunities for Women in an Indian Prison" and thought that it was an amazing idea. Then I read the story...

They're talking about women working in fields, and about teaching them such skills as candle-making, and screen printing. I love the idea of an open jail, but somehow, I'm not quite as enthusiastic about it as one might expect to be.

Partly, that's because I know what the climate in Yerawada is like, and unless these women are used to being outdoors, I'd hate the think of what the effect of working on farms would be for their health. At the moment, and for a large part of the year, being outdoors for extended periods of time is simply not wise. (And depending on the time of year, "extended periods of time" could mean 45 minutes.

The article does not speak about what sort of protective gear the women would be provided (if any), and I can somehow picture a situation where women would "choose" to work outdoors just to get their sentences reduced.

And as far as the indoor skills being taught are concerned, the two which have been mentioned in the articles are candle-making, and screen printing. Really? And that is supposed to help women convicts start a "new life" after their release? The last time I checked, neither candle-making nor screen-printing were lucrative career options in India, except, possibly for the super-rich person who could create a brand name for him/herself, and sell products at exorbitant prices.

That, I somehow doubt is something which the average woman who's in jail would be able to do. So by teaching her a skill which may not actually enable her to support herself (much less her child(ren), if she has any who depend on her), the State may well be putting effort into teaching her a skill which would leave her in poverty; effort which could probably be better expended in teaching women in jails skills which they would be able to use to earn reasonable amounts on their release.