Over 2300 Children Live in Iranian Prisons

A member of the Judicial and Legal Commission of the Parliament considered the increase in the number of children in Iranian prisons to over 2,300 as a sign of the 'increase' in female offenders and deemed the establishment of kindergartens in prisons as essential. Mohammad-Javad Fathi, on Saturday, July 31, in an interview with the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency 'Khaneh Mellat', called for the establishment of kindergartens in Iranian prisons with 'security measures' in mind. Fathi regarded the issuance of permits for the construction of kindergartens in prisons by the Welfare Organization as a 'positive step' and added that these kindergartens should be built in a way that children do not feel they are in an 'unnatural and special environment'. This parliament member described the presence of 2,300 children with their parents in prisons as a 'very strange and noteworthy' situation and requested the Prison Organization to provide 'transparent statistics on the number of imprisoned mothers'. He stated that 'the judiciary should provide these statistics to universities and specialized criminology departments so that, through precise statistical studies, the causes of the increase in crimes [by women] can be identified'. This member of the Judicial and Legal Commission also added that 'hiding the statistics of offenders does not solve any problems, although high statistics are also very regrettable'. Currently, there is no accurate statistic on the number of imprisoned women in the country, but according to statistics published in 2013, women make up only about three percent of Iran's prisoners. According to Zahra Baniyanian, advisor to the Secretary-General of the Anti-Narcotics Headquarters on women's and family affairs, in 2013, more than 7,377 women were imprisoned in Iran. Shahindokht Molaverdi, Deputy of Hassan Rouhani for Women's and Family Affairs, also announced on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, that women's prisons 'are not in a desirable condition' and that 200 children live with their mothers in Iranian prisons. Ms. Molaverdi had also described the conditions of children living with their mothers in women's prisons as 'appalling' on April 14 of the same year. She stated that these children are kept in nurseries and welfare centers 'in a quarantined manner' and suffer 'significant damage in terms of personality and development'. According to the regulations of the Prison Organization, children can stay with their mothers in prison until the age of three, but according to a report by the 'Prisoners' Rights Defense Association', sometimes children live in prison until the age of six. Meanwhile, Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and child rights advocate, assessed this regulation as insufficient in an interview with Radio Farda. Ms. Ebadi stated that 'when they decide to build a prison, before building the prison cells, a kindergarten for women should be built. This means prioritizing children in government planning. Unfortunately, we do not see this priority in the issue of prisons.' According to some lawyers and child rights advocates, neglecting the situation of children who live in unhealthy prison environments with their mothers creates conditions for these children to become future offenders.