Minority women make up prisoners all over the world, estimated to be between two and nine percent of the total prison population. This is despite the fact that the number of female prisoners has significantly increased in some countries and even compared to the number of male prisoners, the increase in female prisoners is remarkable. However, due to the small number of women among the total prison population, the specific needs and characteristics of women have been overlooked and ignored in judicial and penal systems. Prison systems around the world are often designed for the majority of the population, which are men; from the architecture of prisons to security considerations, healthcare facilities, conditions for contacting family, education, and work in prison. As a result, only a small number of prisons meet the specific needs of female prisoners and in most cases, female prisoners are not adequately prepared for release during their time in prison due to their gender.

When we talk about women prisoners in Iran, our minds are likely to be preoccupied with the situation of political prisoners; this is not unexpected. Many women are imprisoned for their political activities, human rights, labor rights, and women’s and children’s rights, all of whom are recognized as political prisoners. However, there is another important reality about women prisoners that may receive less attention; that is, most women prisoners are sentenced to prison for committing minor and non-violent crimes. It is also impossible to ignore the impact of gender discrimination and oppression that women experience directly or indirectly from their spouses or partners, society, and family on the process of committing crimes and being imprisoned. The crimes that women commit are closely related to poverty and their economic status, and many women commit crimes that result in imprisonment in order to support their families and children. Some studies (1) show that the characteristics and features of women prisoners are significantly different from the reasons for men’s imprisonment, and women prisoners are usually among

Kahrizak 2nd.

The women’s prison is one of the most marginalized areas, but even within this margin, some women are treated worse than others. Women prisoners who are imprisoned with their children, ethnic minority women who are oppressed, women who are referred to as “foreigners” and are actually Afghan immigrants, young and elderly women, illiterate women, consumers, women who are imprisoned for sexual labor, and many other women are even more vulnerable than other prisoners. “Qarchak Prison” encompasses all of these. Recently, reports have been published about the situation in Qarchak Prison, which provides a clearer picture of the unfavorable and inhumane conditions of this prison and the women imprisoned there (2); a prison where political women prisoners – including Nasrin Sotoudeh – have been repeatedly transferred to and the extremely unfavorable conditions have made it known as “Second Kahrizak”. This prison is located in the deserts east of Tehran, making it difficult for prisoners to meet with their families

Exploiting women, especially poor prisoners.

The story of one of the female political prisoners who has spent a short time in Qarchak prison and is currently transferred to the first prison to serve her sentence speaks of severe discrimination against female prisoners in Qarchak; women who, according to her, are not even allowed to wear shoes and have to use slippers even during their daily running exercises, which causes many of them to become discouraged and prefer to do less physically demanding tasks. These women are not even comfortable choosing their own clothing in prison and cannot be present in the corridors wearing shorts and tank tops. According to her, this is the least of the injustices that women in Qarchak prison endure, but it greatly affects their daily lives and causes them to be ignored and marginalized in that situation. She talks about women who, due to extreme poverty, are forced to clean the warehouses and corridors in exchange for a pack of cigarettes, and elderly women who, although not physically capable of heavy cleaning tasks, are forced to do so

Zahra Mastajer, a human rights activist, also writes about Mojgan Kavousi in a report titled “The Suffering of Being a Woman” published in the book “The Unheard Voice”. Mojgan Kavousi is an ethnic activist who has been imprisoned in Nowshahr for years. Referring to Mojgan Kavousi’s accounts of the situation of women in Nowshahr prison, she speaks of the oppression of women in this prison. She talks about how prison officials and guards force women to do personal favors for them, abuse them, and bring them into their barracks to wash the soldiers’ blankets, which are “full of lice”, even though the women’s blankets and belongings are never taken to the laundry. In Zahra Mastajer’s account of Mojgan Kavousi’s situation, she also mentions the multiple discrimination against ethnic prisoners.

Mothers of prisoners and children under oppression.

Lakan Prison in Rasht is another prison where the rights of prisoners are violated in the most severe way possible. Hamed Farmand, a children’s rights activist, in a report emphasizing that “the sky is darker in some prisons”, considers Lakan Prison in Rasht and its women’s ward (known as the Correction and Rehabilitation Center and Women’s Prison of Gilan Province) as one of the examples where prisoners have been neglected by the media and have been subjected to more violence (3). He writes that gender-based discrimination and violence are among the forms of violence in prisons, and prisoners of non-political crimes are sometimes ignored or portrayed as “dangerous prisoners” by activists and the media. He tells the true story of a female prisoner who “brought her three and a half year old child to the women’s ward of Lakan Prison to soften the judge’s heart and have her child with her on the day of the trial. She was later released on furlough with

The vulnerable situation of women prisoners who also have children not only leads to further discrimination and injustice against them, but also creates a ground for violating the rights of their children. Solina, the child of Saada Khodirzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner in Urmia, is one of the children who, despite being over a year old, still does not have a birth certificate, and her mother in Urmia prison even struggles to provide her with formula and diapers (4). Saada Khodirzadeh is also threatened by prison officials about taking her child, and they refer to her child as a “terrorist” and “ISIS”. It is said that Saada has heart and nerve problems and spent her entire pregnancy in prison, and even during that time, she suffered from kidney and back problems, but did not receive proper medical care. She attempted suicide once due to psychological pressure, but fortunately was saved by the reaction of other prisoners. Evin Must

The imprisonment of women is closely linked to their economic and social status. Some women, like Saada, remain in prison for years without their situation being clarified because they are alone and do not have the support of their relatives to follow up on their case. Many imprisoned women are forced to endure their sentence due to lack of access to financial resources and inability to hire a lawyer. Most of these women are also socially vulnerable, often unemployed, with low education levels, and may have children under their care. They also generally lack sufficient information about their rights. All of these factors make the conditions for imprisoned women, especially for some of them, even more difficult; for those who face discrimination and violence during the interrogation and trial process, but their voices are not reflected in any media. Worse still, some women may even face discrimination and humiliation from other prisoners in prison; just as female drug users in Qarchak prison are in such a weak position.

Notes:

1- Access to Justice: Discrimination against women in criminal justice systems.

Report.

International Penal Reform Organization (Penal Reform International), 2012.

2- More than a decade of continuous oppression and violation of women’s basic rights in prison.

Report.

An investigation into the situation of Gohardasht Prison, Iran Human Rights Campaign, 8 August 2022.

3- Farmand, Hamed, and children in the women’s section of Lakan Prison: Witnesses and victims of violence and gender discrimination.

Radio Zamaneh.

February 18th, 2023.

4- “Solina”, the child of Saada Khodirzadeh, without a birth certificate and in inhumane conditions, was referred to as a “terrorist” by the officials of Urmia prison and turned one year old.

Kurdpa.

, 30 Khordad 1402.