Department of Prisons has taken initiatives to improve healthcare for children living with their incarcerated mothers by appointing specialist doctors, increasing the number of nurses, recruiting pharmacists and expanding daycare facilities in prisons across the country.
The department plans to establish daycare centres in all 75 prisons in phases and ensure round-the-clock medical services at the facilities.
According to prison officials, around 3,800 female inmates are currently held in prisons across the country, with 350 children, including 178 boys and 172 girls, staying with their mothers.
Prison regulations allow children below the age of six to stay with their mothers in prison.
Additional Inspector General of Prisons Colonel Mesbahul Alam Salim told BSS that the government was committed to improving healthcare and other facilities for children living with their incarcerated mothers.
He expressed hope that specialist doctors would be appointed, additional nurses deployed and pharmacists recruited soon.
Currently, daycare facilities are available in eight prisons, including Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail, Sylhet Central Jail, Rajshahi Central Jail and Khulna District Jail.
Children receive medical care from prison doctors, while breastfeeding children are provided with milk and nutritious food. The menu is determined by doctors at prison hospitals in line with prison regulations. If a child needs additional food, the attending doctor recommends it to the prison superintendent.
Children aged over three receive primary education at daycare centres. They also participate in cultural and recreational activities, including singing, dancing and drawing.
Various prisons provide playgrounds, classrooms, libraries and sports equipment for children.
Jailor (Logistics and Media) at the Department of Prisons in Dhaka, Mohammad Masud Hasan Jewel, told BSS that local prison authorities arranged daily meals and medical care for children at daycare centres.
Clothing is also provided based on the financial circumstances of their mothers, with new clothes distributed on special occasions, including Great Victory Day, Independence Day, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.
Senior Jail Superintendent of Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail Mohammad Nazrul Islam told BSS that the specialised women’s prison currently houses 813 female inmates and 60 children living with them.
The inmates include women accused in drug-related and other criminal cases.
He said initiatives were underway to expand daycare facilities and strengthen healthcare services for children, alongside broader programmes aimed at prisoners’ correction and rehabilitation.
The programmes include sports, cultural activities, religious education and counselling to promote prisoners’ mental well-being.
According to the Department of Prisons, the country’s prison system originated in 1788 during British rule, with a criminal ward or detention facility established in the Chawkbazar area of Old Dhaka. Prisons were later established at district and sub-divisional headquarters across undivided India in 1836, while an integrated prison management system was introduced in 1864.
-BSS
