In Malawi, the prison system is a bit different than in the
states. I have gone on a prison
outreach, so I want to explain some of the things that I saw.
The prison here is actually in town. I passed it on the way to the grocery store
all the time, and never knew it. Looking
in, I just saw some fenced off buildings, with hardly any people. I never realized that it was the prison.
Well, some of my friends here do an outreach to the
prisoners. For the women, they bring
them yarn and knitting needles, sing, and share with them. Yes, they give them knitting needles! Well, in Malawi, the prisons are filled with un-convicted
people. I have only been on the women’s
side, so I will tell you about that, and try to get my husband to blog about
the men’s side in another post.
Well on the women’s side, there are about 65 women. Only 20 of these have been convicted of
anything. When I went, I noticed that
the fence around them had holes in it, and there was only minor security. Yet, no one tried to escape. On the outside of the fence, there were many
people gathered. Relatives have to feed
and provide clothing and bare essentials (ex. Soap) to the prisoners. There was a check-in gate, but we just waved
and drove past that. They then proceeded
to just open the gates and let us in the prison.
Before we went in, we noticed the Gooli Wancooli
(traditional religion) dancers at the front of the prison. They were teaching some of the prisoners a
dance for the upcoming Prison day open house.
It was really strange. Here is a
video of that. One of the women who has
lived here for 20+ years is talking about them in the background of the video.
In the prison, only a handful of women are wearing the
prison uniform. All the rest are wearing
their own clothes. And then, there are
the babies! Women are allowed to have
their young children with them in jail.
There were tons of babies.
The reason why we were there, is that we were part of an
outreach that gives the women yarn. They
knit or crochet hats, scarves, etc. Then
they are sold to help provide for the women’s basic needs for soap, food,
etc. Right now, my friend Marion is
paying for this completely, but the future goal is that this will support
itself.
Now, you may wonder if the people in the prison are
dangerous, well I am sure that there may be a couple, but the women that I met
were in there for offenses such as:
1 1)Not having the proper visa to be in Malawi
2) Moving the neighbors laundry during an argument,
and thus having to pay a $30 fine (which is about a months salary), and not
having the money to do so
3) Stealing food for her family
4) Being accused of wrongdoing by her husband
Now, I am sure that some people in there are definite criminals,
but many are not. This is a
male-dominated society, and whatever the husband says is taken as the
truth. It wasn’t until 5-10 years ago
that women were even allowed to wear pants!
The president would make women change at the airport before letting them
into the country!
Well, this one women I met there has a newborn baby. Her child was born in prison. Her husband accused her of killing her other
child. Now, the husband has run off, and
can’t be found. There is no longer an
accuser, yet, the women still sits in jail.
She has never seen a judge. Yet,
because her husband accused her of this, she must remain in jail.
I am not sure of her innocence, yet, I am not sure of her
guilt either.
Today, I am grateful for the American judicial system, where
at least people are tried or let go.
What do you think about this prison system??
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