Women prisoners in detention centres in Jaipur and other districts of Rajasthan have found a creative activity to keep themselves busy during the underway lockdown. With less frequent visits by family, friends and trainers, the daily activities of the prisoners were witnessing a lull. However, now, these inmates have started to spin the yarn, stitching one tale at a time to keep themselves and other fellow prisoners engaged. This is also helping the convicts to grow morally stronger and come out enriched with knowledge.
Enriching & educating women prisoners
Monica Agrawal, DIG, Prisons, Rajasthan, stated that given the COVID surge and the consequent imposition of lockdown-like restrictions across the state, there was a dip in the number of prison visits. This has had a direct impact on the activity of the prisoners, who also could not meet their family, friends or trainers.
This is where the storytelling sessions have come in handy. It is both, a creative and an engaging activity, that keeps them occupied. Unable to do other tasks, they now collect books from the library and read out stories for other inmates, building a stronger bond by means of a novel exercise.
“Meanwhile, there are other females who are learning to read and write from these inmates,” she added. Agarwal further cited the example of a prisoner who could not read or write anything. the inmates, taught her the basics of Hindi “and now she can read the alphabets”, the DIG mentioned.
This is not the first time that detention centres in Rajasthan have resorted to recreational means as reforms. Earlier too, Jaipur prisoners had contributed during the lockdown in a big way. They had donated their one-time chapati for the needy and made containers for birds that could be kept outside with water to quench their thirst.
