The scene inside women’s prisons in Lebanon lacks respect for human rights standards. Women prisoners are exposed to health neglect and reproductive health care is absent, and they are not subjected to any special examinations for breast cancer or any x-rays of the uterus, except in cases of pregnancy.
The medical follow-up of female prisoners is limited to emergency cases, as is the case with hospitalization, due to the economic crisis the country is currently going through. The associations often, and sometimes the families of women prisoners, fill the state’s deficit by providing the necessary examinations, medicines and sanitary pads.
Baabda Prison is one of the women’s prisons in Lebanon. There are 104 female prisoners, about half of whom are foreigners, and it contains only five rooms, and each room contains more than 20 female prisoners, which causes great overcrowding.
Only 10% of the female inmates in Baabda prison are convicted, and the rest are arrested, and their trials are postponed due to the judges’ refusal to exercise their duties. Sometimes, a female detainee remains in prison for a period longer than her sentence, at a time when her stay imposes additional expenses on the state, such as food, medical care, and guarding.
From inside Baabda prison, and through conversations with some female prisoners and their supervisors, this podcast* was made:
In Lebanese women’s prisons… Women prisoners’ sexual and reproductive health is not a priority.mp3
*This podcast was produced under the supervision of Maharat Foundation, and with the support of Hivos, as part of the We lead project, noting that its content does not necessarily reflect Hivos’ opinions.
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