SHARJAH : Fifteen female inmates in Sharjah with children less than two years of age will soon be able to serve their jail terms while taking care of their little ones at a separate facility near the prison, authorities said.
The scheme will be supervised by the Sharjah Rehabilitation and Punitive Establishments in coordination with Sharjah Social Services Department's Dar Al Aman centre, which provides shelter to children of female prisoners.
House of safety
Established two years ago, Dar Al Aman (Arabic for "house of safety") consists of a play room, nursery room, bedroom [hall] and a room for staff.
The place houses inmates' children aged between one month and two years. At present female inmates are allowed to visit them five times a day.
But now the department in coordination with prison authorities is considering moving the mothers, mostly Asians, to the centre so that they be with their children all the time.
Mariam Esmael Abdullah, Dar Al Aman's manager, said they have 14 employees who look after the children and ensure that the young ones are fed, cared, clothed and brought up in a healthy atmosphere.
CHILD WELFARE
"We provide the mothers with the social services they need; we study their files, the conditions they lived in as well as their motives for committing the crime in order to see what is best for their children and who will raise them after they reach the age of two when they are moved to the Social Service Centre for Children," said Mariam.
Major Muna Surour, Director of Sharjah Women's Prison, said, "Most of the children were born of illicit relationships."
She said, at the moment, female jail guards accompany the mothers who are allowed to visit the centre five times a day.
"If a child needs to see his/her mother more than five times a day, we don't mind," she said.
Inmates' delight
An Asian housemaid, serving a two-year jail term for adultery, visits her seven-month-old daughter, born of an illicit relationship, up to four times a day at the Dar Al Aman centre to check on her and breastfeed her.
Another Asian woman, who was caught living in the country illegally and who had an illicit relationship with a man, expressed happiness that her daughter is being taken care of.
