in Afghanistan hundreds of women are in
prison some for reasons that may
surprise you many have no choice but to
bring their children along but is a
prison any place to raise a child is our
story their day starts with a song
followed by play and learning time in
this bright and spacious classroom there
are more than 70 boys and girls here at
any given time the youngest only a few
months old while little ones play the
older children practice their reading
and writing and work on their math and
art their drawings decorate the walls
and if it weren't for the bars on the
windows this would be like any other
kindergarten except this is a prison
they call a curse on this kindergarten
belongs to Battenberg female prison told
pokai is the only teacher here and while
she is happy with the facilities and the
materials that she has she thinks prison
is no place for children whether the
children are stressed most of the time
and they cannot learn quickly they have
a lot of learning difficulties
this is a story about the women and
children of Budden bog the only woman's
present in Kabul it is home to some 90
inmates many of the mothers
eighteen-year-old krishma is one of them
a Hannah dariya ganj a McAlister it's
difficult to take care of a child in
prison if you have somebody at home it's
better for a child to stay with a family
member than in jail they don't learn
manners here but Budden bog is an
improvement for Krishna and her young
daughter just two years ago they lived
in the female section of Pali charkie
the notorious Afghan Jail with no
special provisions for mothers with
children Krishna and her baby lived in
terrible conditions not far from
convicted criminals recognizing the
special needs of female prisoners and
their children the UN Drugs and Crime
office UN ODC with the financial support
of the Italian government built this
women-only prison
in baden bog women spend their days
doing productive work like sewing and
embroidery they learn new skills
including computers krishna has been
found guilty of murder and sentenced to
16 years in prison for a crime she says
she didn't commit mother my friend's
father was killed when I went to their
house the house was broken into and the
burglar killed my friend's father but
they arrested me for the murder
Krishna was lucky to have had two court
appearances now an appointed defender is
fighting her conviction with no family
to care for the child she's not sure
what the future holds for her daughter
Mallory Jones
my lawyer is appealing the conviction
he's trying to get me out of here if I'm
released then my daughter will be with
me but if not then I will send her to an
orphanage okay
the main problem is that the Minister of
Labour and Social Affairs is not
accepting the children of prisoners into
the orphanage
zarab Shona is the present director here
immediate the flora and a child should
not go to school in a prison environment
the child has not committed the crime
the mother did according to the law
children under three can stay with their
mothers in prison but those between
three and seven should be placed in
special facilities adjacent to the
present older children however is
supposed to be integrated into regular
schools in the city but the reality is
that many of these children have no
other place to live or no one to care
for them even if they do experts say
that the separation from their mothers
due to imprisonment has a traumatic and
long-term effect on both another young
inmate at bottom bog 4 has seven
children she has decided against
bringing them here they live with their
father and an aunt Bahat didn't and the
dynamic I can't keep my children in
prison there is a kindergarten but the
discipline they get here is not the same
as outside art is a palliative I'm a
mother I do not want to keep them in
jail but why is father in prison she is
charged with leaving her husband's house
after an argument the mastcam in germany
it's been two months since my arrest
I'm here because after my husband had
hit me I got angry so I left my house
and went to stay with my sister-in-law
because thousands nephew went to speak
to her husband on her behalf
Botha and the nephew were charged with
adultery adultery is a crime now what's
unusual here is that the crime is
punished quite severely Michael Hoffman
is un o DC's criminal justice advisor in
Kabul article 427 the Penal Code says a
person who commits adultery shall be
sentenced to long imprisonment
long imprisonment is five years to 15
years thousand has not been proven but
she was sentenced to three years in
prison based on the prosecutors claimed
that the Sienna will the prosecutor told
my husband that if you do not give me
money I will write adultery in your
wife's case Vasya says the same
prosecutor is now in jail himself for
taking bribes and making false
accusations most women in Afghanistan
have little knowledge about their
constitutional rights and no access to
justice in another country thousa and
many of the women here would not even be
in jail they would be considered victims
rather than perpetrators but after three
decades of war the extreme Islamic
policies toward women have had a
devastating impact on them today amid
renewed attacks by the Taliban and
rampant corruption the women of
Afghanistan are still struggling to get
justice justice for young women like
waggers who was engaged to be married to
a man she didn't like instead she ran
away from her father's house with a boy
she was in love with daughters what fed
after two days we had a fight and my
boyfriend kicked me out of his house he
said both [ __ ] as' and her boyfriend were
accused of adultery adultery is
considered not just when married people
have sex but when unmarried people have
sex that their definition of adultery
and that would be I think what you are
considering when you talk about a moral
crime
according to Afghanistan's Constitution
no deed is considered a crime unless
made a crime by a law before the
commitment of the offense what happens
unfortunately is that there are certain
crimes which are part of the Sharia
which for the West you might call it
like the common law it's out there it is
part of the principles but it's not
written down yet and that Sharia law
unfortunately and I say this from my
cultural perspective is enforced here as
a sign of positive change the Afghan
government now recognizes the special
needs of women prisoners one of the
major improvements has been employing
female guards but the issue of having
children here remains like their mothers
they to await their destiny behind bars