-SATISH HANDA
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Central Jail Ambala took a new initiative to make women prisoners in state jails self-sufficient enabling them to earn their livelihood and join the mainstream society when they come out of jail. The jail department has started a speial program to make women prisoners skilled in skills like dress making, fashion designing, cloth sewing, embroidery and modern dress making.
Director General Prisons, Haryana K. Selvaraj while inaugurating a modern fashion studio at central jail Ambala on the occasion of International Women’s Day in association with ‘Charity on Wheels’ a Delhi based NGO. Selvaraj said that the scheme has been launched at central jail Ambala to further the government’s women empowerment policies and afterthis it would also be started in other jails in four districts in the state at Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat with the same NGO to train jail inmates in all skills in a very modern manners to make international level apparels and costumes made by these prisoners will be marketed by the ‘Charity on Wheels’. Selvaraj further said that in the first phase, women prisoners will be given three months basic training in central jail, after that the costumes prepared by these prisoners will be made available in the market.
Smt Vinky Singh chairperson of ‘Charity on Wheels’ said that this program was earlier been started at Tihar central jail Delhi for women prisoners and now being introduced in jails of Haryana not only to provide an opportunity to improve the skills of women prisoners, but also to divert the attention of the prisoners from negative subjects to positivity and productivity and also help in removing the mental stress of prisoners. He said, this will not only help women prisoners lead a respectable way of life on completion of imprisonment, but will help them to merge with the mainstream society.
Ms Indu Sabharwal from ‘Charity on Wheels’ Superintendent Ambala central jail Lakhbir Singh and several other officers were present on this occasion. K. Selvaraj IPS also listened to the problems of prisoners and also inspected the jail, factory including bakery unit run by jail management and hospital inside the jail.
