Jazan jail’s women inmates trained in handicraft skills

JAZAN – The general prison for women in Jazan trains inmates to make handicrafts in order to help them have a decent post-release living. The prison management is also providing them with social and child care as they are allowed to accompany their children to hospitals. Al-Watan Arabic daily’s correspondent Afiya Al-Fifi visited the prison and gave a firsthand account of its facilities. “We intend to hold a number of courses and workshops for inmates,” said Corporal Hanan Nasser Ghazawi, a senior official at the prison and in charge of guidance. She said the programs are aimed at enhancing health, social and religious awareness of inmates. “We hold a number of cultural and recreational competitions for inmates to make them happy. We also conduct various programs to strengthen their capabilities and skills.” Ghazawi added: “We teach them various handicrafts that would help them have a good job when get out of prison. We display their works at the prison’s exhibition hall and sell the best works for the benefit of prisoners and purchase raw materials,” she added. She stressed the management’s desire to organize various programs such as the National Day and Unified GCC Prisoners’ Week to enable inmates to participate in such functions as well as to bring happiness to their faces. “We also celebrate the days when prisoners’ are released.” The prison authorities would invite organizations such as Dar Al-Hemaya and Tarahum committee to attend these celebrations and provide outgoing inmates with gifts and cash awards. The prison allows women inmates to keep their little children with them. “We have nine children at the prison. We provide them with all their requirements including vaccinations. We provide inmates with good food and necessary medical treatment.” Al-Watan met with social researcher Badriya Hamdi at the prison’s corridors and she spoke about social and psychological care given to the inmates. “Cases of all female prisoners are moving in the right direction,” she said, adding that there are seven Saudi women prisoners. “I meet these prisoners everyday to provide them with necessary counseling to change and improve their attitude and behavior,” she added. “These counseling sessions are aimed at helping women prisoners to have peaceful coexistence with society when they are released,” Hamdi said. Jabara, an inmate, said she was extremely happy after she was saved from beheading as the close relatives of the woman’s murder victim pardoned her. “I also met with my daughter Hagar after I left her when she was six. She has now two children.” Despite the fear and pain of staying in prison, Jabara said she tried to transform her life in prison into an opportunity, using the time in prison for reading and writing and learning the Qur’an. “I have memorized many chapters of the Qur’an,” she added. “The life in prison also helped me to become closer to Allah as I repented and cleansed myself of sins to lead a new life. I will use my remaining life to take care of my children and grand children,” she said.