UAE | Crime
Prison born but with complete care
A Filipina inmate said she and her husband were both jailed at the same time and as there was no one to take care of her child she was allowed to raise the baby in jail.
- By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:42 July 27, 2007
- Dubai jail's full-facility maternity unit holds 50 inmates and children up to 2. Picture for illustrative purpose only.
- Image Credit: Gulf News
Dubai: A Filipina inmate said she and her husband were both jailed at the same time and as there was no one to take care of her child she was allowed to raise the baby in jail.
Another inmate, R., who gave birth to her child in Dubai Central Jail said she did not face any problems as the jail administration provided her with all care for the child.
Women in Dubai Central Jail are allowed to keep their children with them in jail and raise them till they are two years old.
Captain Nawal Abdullah, Acting Director of Women's Prison, said pregnant inmates and those who are sentenced and have children, have a separate section from the rest of the inmates. This section has a capacity of up to 50 inmates.
She said the section has separate beds for mothers and their children as well as toys and games for the children.
Captain Nawal said currently there are 30 inmates with children in the jail and 12 children of various ages.
Pregnant inmates get special care and there is a doctor who visits the jail twice a week and gives them checkups.
Registering newborns
"If they are required to be referred to a certain hospital for more checkups, we take them," said the captain. "If they are about to deliver, we refer them to the hospital," Captain Nawal said.
The jail takes charge of all the procedures required for registering the child after birth in the mother's passport. Captain Nawal said there are nurses available 24 hours in the jail in case of any problem. "One of the most important aspects in our care for the inmates is the awareness aspect. We provide lectures on personal hygiene, their children's hygiene and health and importance of breast feeding."
Captain Nawal said pregnant inmates and those with children are provided with all the basic requirements such as milk, diapers, medicines and anything else they require, on request.
She said the children are also taken for their regular vaccinations to the hospitals. The director said that after the child is two years old, he or she has to be handed over to his mother's or father's families or sent to his mother's home country, after coordination with the consulate.
"Most mothers prefer that their children be sent out of the jail after two years as they start understanding what is going on around them," she said.
But there have been a few cases where mothers refused to send their children after completing two years, "but then they were convinced that it is better for the children", she said.
Captain Nawal said some of the Muslim inmates prefer that their children be sent out of the jail because they want to complete memorisation of the Quran which can help them reduce their jail terms.
She mentioned one incident where a mother who was sentenced to seven years in jail, gave birth to her child in the jail and kept him with her for two years. "When the father came to take the child, she got emotional and could not let him go," she said.
Ideal mother award
The woman was released shortly afterwards as she had memorised a large section of the Quran and was among those who were pardoned.
Captain Nawal said the jail administration has an award to honour the ideal mother among the inmates, which is given annually.
"We have this award to encourage the inmates to take care of themselves and their children, specially hygiene issues. When choosing the ideal mother, we judge them based on their behaviour and the care they provide to their children," she said.
Share this article
Popular in UAE
-
Gallery
Your Pictures
XPRESS brings you a selection of the best reader pictures
-
Money
Managing with less
How to manage with less than Dh3,000 to spend every month
-
Your Say
Fun encounters
What was the craziest way in which you made a friend?
Latest news
- Reef project to protect ecosystem
- Experimental phase of street naming project to end soon
- Municipality staff gear up for car-free day
- Report: Bright outlook for media in region
- 25-year term upheld for pair convicted of murder
- RAK ready to host half marathon
- Police search for parents who abandoned babies
- Dubai puts new drug regulations in place
- Why are electric wires exposed?
- No suspect product in Abu Dhabi
- Photography contest winners announced
- Man claims fiancee hid beard under niqab
- Al Sabah's message to Khalifa
- Couple gets reduced jail term after leniency plea
- UAE-Turkmenistan ties get big boost
