Taslima had served a term of 5 years, at Tihar Jail (Central Prisons, New Delhi) until she was released on bail in 2010. Taslima belonged to a village from the Indo-Nepal border, and was a single mother of three daughters. Her youngest daughter, Sana, two months old at the time of Taslima’s imprisonment, lived with Taslima throughout her time in prison. As permitted by the Honorable Supreme Court, in India, imprisoned mothers are allowed to keep their children with them until the age of 6.

 While Taslima was imprisoned, some of her fellow barrack mates told her about the India Vision Foundation (IVF), an NGO chaired by Dr Kiran Bedi, and convinced her to take up a vocational course that would help her pass her time constructively. Reluctantly, Taslima agreed and walked into the Weaving Behind Bars (WBB) training center managed by IVF at Tihar Jail. When an IVF staff member spotted her vacant gaze, she encouraged Taslima to join the weaving center. Although Taslima had never done any work apart from housework, prior to her time in prison, she was known to be meticulous and hard working. When Taslima started to frequent the WBB center, the IVF staff was able to convince her to enroll for the certified training program, on the completion of which, she would receive a monthly stipend.

In India, each jail is governed by the state’s jail manual, and the Indian prison administration is collectively under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Children are permitted to accompany their imprisoned mothers (and in some cases, fathers) inside jails until they complete six years. According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) Crime Report, a total of 344 convicted women with their 382 children, and 1,226 under-trial women with their 1,397 children, were lodged in various prisons across India at the end of 2012. In effect, therefore, nearly 1800 children are at the mercy of the prison system. The Model Prison Manual, 2003 suggests that a crèche and nursery be made available for all children imprisoned, in a separate enclosure. However, guidelines set have not been addressed to their full potential in many cases, and in some cases not at all. Bhondsi prison, is one among just a handful of jails in India, that conform to the Supreme Court directives on the treatment of children imprisoned with their parents (Justice Iyer Committee 1986). Although, this remains a reality yet to be met in all prisons across the nation, at present Central Prison Tihar has a state of the art crèche facility for the children (approximately ranging between 50 – 75 through out the year) managed by the NGO India Vision Foundation as well.

Soon, Taslima began to spend more hours at the WBB center and began to drop her daughter off at the crèche, enjoying her time working. She also found employment as one of the crèche cleaners, managing to make a little more money to support her child.

When IVF was founded in 1994, it began its work at the crèche at Tihar. The project soon identified that even though many mothers would have to continue to serve their time imprisoned, there was a urgent need to develop a formal education program outside the prison set-up for their children. This project is called the Children of Vulnerable Families (CVF)project, and it aims at looking after children of imprisoned parents in residential schools, until these children move on to higher studies or find employment.

Time flew by and little Sana grew up to be an active and intelligent toddler. Even though some of Taslima’s family lived in Jahangirpuri (North Delhi), she was not very certain of them being able to support Sana once she crossed the permissible age (i.e. 6 years). Taslima’s second daughter was being looked after by a family based in Delhi and the oldest daughter had been sent back to live with Taslima’s relatives at her maternal village in Nepal.

Seeing the challenge before Taslima, IVF stepped in and offered to take over Sana’s education at a residential school away from the very impressionable jail environment. Sana was moved out of  prison when she was 4 ½ years and IVF enrolled her into a partner school in Faridabad. Sana adjusted to hostel life quickly and performed very well in her studies. In order to maintain and strengthen the bond between mother and child, IVF arranged quarterly visits for many mothers and their children after acquiring necessary permissions.

Taslima, along with the help of a government supported legal aid attorney, was granted bail and was released from prison in 2010. With no family support or formal education, the only suitable employment for her was to be a live-in domestic helper.  Unfortunately, Taslima was not treated with adequate dignity in the first home she was placed in, and thereafter an alternative home was identified.

It has been 2 years and 6 months since then. Taslima now lives with a middle class family in Delhi. She cleans and cooks for them. She is well fed, has the freedom to watch television, uses the phone if she needs and even has a separate room for herself and Sana. Although Sana is mostly away at her residential school, whenever she has holidays she too is warmly welcomed into this family. Sana is now in the second grade, and is assured of the support of IVF until she completes her education. Taslima manages her money wisely, managing to send money to her relatives for their support towards her other two children and makes arrangements to meet them periodically too.

Taslima’s story is a shining example of The India Vision Foundation’s efforts towards saving the next victim and mainstreaming the lives of those with a history of incarceration. Indian prisoners need support, for themselves and their families. Thousands of prisoners in India first face the struggles of imprisonment, and then the challenges of re-establishing their lives post release. They must be entitled to a second chance.

– Ruchika Angela Nigam

 (Ruchika Nigam holds a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She has worked extensively in the field of human rights and prison reforms. Her most recent exposure has been in advocacy against sex trafficking in New Delhi, India.)