The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) has
appealed to women organisations to assist in the establishment of a national
open prison for women in Marondera.
An open prison is one where inmates are trusted to serve
their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often
not locked up in their prison cells and they may be permitted to take up
employment or visit their homes while serving their sentence.
Zimbabwe has one open prison, Connemara in Gweru in the
Midlands Province which only caters for men.
In an interview at the ZPCS stand at the 60th edition of
the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo yesterday, the
national spokesperson, Chief Correctional Officer Meya Khanyezi said they are
lobbying for an open prison for women to balance privileges given to inmates.
“The only open prison is for men and we are saying this
initiative should also cater for women. With our Government and other
stakeholders calling for empowerment and equality, as ZPCS we feel without an
open prison for women we won’t be achieving gender balance,” she said.
Chief Correctional Officer Khanyezi said Government has
allocated a site in Marondera for establishment of the open prison. She called
on women’s organisations to have input in the establishment of the institution.
“This issue is even known in parliament and Government
supports the idea. However we have no resources to develop the site yet and we
are calling upon organisations that advocate for women’s rights to also chip in
and assist. At the end of the day such initiatives are what they are lobbying
for,” she said.
The ZPCS national spokesperson said such organisations
should not sideline women who are behind bars because they are also part of
society.
“Women’s organisations tend to forget inmates and they
focus more on ‘free’ women but we are saying these inmates are part of society
and share the same sentiments as their counterparts who are outside jail,” she
said.
Chief Correctional Officer Khanyezi said it is critical to
have a female open prison so that women can engage with their families and
build relations.
“Women have a bond with their children so they should also
be given a chance to mingle with their families. It is critical to make sure
that they are given economic freedom to buy, sell and engage in any
entrepreneurship programme to generate income,” she said.
She said it is the duty of every citizen to contribute
either with ideas or resources on what the women’s open prison should look
like.
The open prison for men was introduced in 2000 and has
benefited 1 563 inmates up to date.
The Connemara men’s open prison in the Midlands province
has 68 offenders though it has a capacity of 108 inmates.
“Since its inception, we only recorded 69 escapes from
offenders, which shows that an open prison is effective to inmates and they are
loyal to it. There are inmates who are studying at university and technical
colleges through the open prisons programme,” said the ZPCS national
spokesperson. Chronicle
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