http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article315148.ece
'Most women inmates are expats' By MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWS Published: Mar 13, 2011 00:43 Updated: Mar 13, 2011 00:43 JEDDAH: While officials would not say how many women are serving time behind bars in Saudi Arabia, according to the Kingdom's chief warden, Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Harithy, head of the Directorate General of Prisons, almost all women inmates are foreigners doing time for "moral" violations. These crimes are generally perceived to be sexual in nature, such as prostitution. The Prisoners and Released Prisoners Care Committee in Jeddah tends to the needs of 30 women inmates in Jeddah; "less than 10" of them are Saudis. "We help 30 inmates serving in different jails in Jeddah to find legal assistance when our own part-time legal expert is not available," the committee's Executive Director Suhail Sawan told Arab News on Saturday, emphasizing that prison officials in Jeddah do not give special treatment to Saudi women serving time. "The committee provides assistance to all women prisoners whenever they want any help without looking at their nationalities," Sawan said, adding that prison officials help facilitate visits from family members even if they live abroad. The prison's administration, the Ministry of Social Affairs and some non-governmental organizations support women prisoners who keep their children with them. In an earlier statement to Arab News, Director of Jeddah Prisons Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi said women's prisons have "well-staffed kindergartens and preschool nurseries" for their children. Al-Harithy has said in previous statements that "only three percent" of all women serving time are Saudis - but since he would not say how many women inmates are there in the Kingdom there is no context for this percentage. When a woman begins her prison term, she is thoroughly searched and medically examined, which includes a psychological profile. If a woman is determined not to be of sound mind, she is transferred to an appropriate medical facility; for Jeddah, this treatment center is Amal Hospital. Drug addicts are also sent for rehab treatment. Islamic guidance is the focus of attention in women prisons. Women inmate are offered access to women preachers who are fluent in Tagalog and Bahasa as well as Islamic publications. The day of a female prisoner in the Kingdom starts with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. She is then assigned to clean the wards, rooms, corridors and utilities of the prison. At 8 a.m., she starts her Islamic education, including memorizing verses from the Holy Qur'an. The lessons are given twice a week by female teachers who are from the Ministry of Education. They are also offered home economics and Arabic courses. After these classes, which end around 12:30 p.m., the inmates eat lunch and are then given free time. Pregnant inmates receive pre-natal treatment from an onsite health center. a.. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
