Human Rights Challenges for Women Prisoners

Women behind bars in India face a reality that most of us rarely think about. While prisons are meant to reform and rehabilitate, the conditions inside – especially for women – often tell a very different story. From inadequate healthcare and sanitation to overcrowding and exploitation, the human rights challenges for women prisoners run deep. Understanding these challenges is the first step toward demanding meaningful change.

The scale of women’s incarceration in India 🔗

According to the NCRB’s Prison Statistics India 2023 report, women make up roughly 4.1-4.4% of the total prison population in India. While that percentage sounds small, the actual numbers – over 21,000 women lodged in various prisons – represent real people with real struggles. And these numbers have been growing: the population of women inmates increased by 32% between 2018 and 2023, while the capacity of women’s jails grew by only about 26.7% in the same period.

Out of India’s approximately 1,332 prisons, only 35 are designated as women’s jails. This means the vast majority of female inmates are housed in separate enclosures within male prisons, which are often under-resourced and poorly monitored. Only about one in five women inmates actually stays in a dedicated women’s prison.

Constitutional and legal protections 🔗

On paper, India’s legal framework provides several safeguards for women prisoners. Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guarantees equality before the law, while Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex. The Supreme Court, in its landmark ruling in Prem Shankar Shukla v. Delhi Administration and related cases, extended the right to live with dignity under Article 21 to prisoners, including women.

In T.V. Vatheeswaran v. State of Tamil Nadu, the Court clarified that the protections of Articles 14, 19, and 21 are available to prisoners just as they are to free citizens. Similarly, in M.H. Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court recognised the implied right to free legal aid for impoverished accused persons under the fair procedure guaranteed by Article 21. Article 39A, inserted by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, further directs the State to ensure free legal aid for all, preventing denial of justice on economic grounds.

Protection against custodial abuse 🔗

The Bombay High Court’s decision in Christian Community Welfare Council of India v. Government of Maharashtra was particularly significant for women. It held that women should not be arrested after sunset or before sunrise and directed the State to formulate accountability mechanisms against human rights abuse of female detainees. In D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, the Supreme Court held that custodial torture is a direct violation of human dignity, a position that applies equally to women in custody.

The right to a speedy trial was affirmed in Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar as a fundamental right under Article 21. This ruling is of particular relevance to women undertrials, many of whom languish in jail unaware of their right to bail or legal representation.

Key human rights challenges for women prisoners 🔗

Overcrowding and inadequate infrastructure 🔗

Indian prisons overall operate at around 120.8% occupancy, meaning they house far more inmates than they were built for. For women, the effects of overcrowding are especially severe – fewer toilets and bathrooms, inadequate sleeping space, and lack of privacy. Many women are forced to sleep near toilets or on the floor. The small number of women-only jails means most female prisoners share general prison complexes originally built for men, where their gender-specific needs are rarely addressed.

Healthcare and maternity concerns 🔗

One of the most pressing issues is the lack of proper healthcare for women inmates. Gender-sensitive medical facilities are rare. The NCRB 2023 data highlights that women face inadequate hygiene access and insufficient medical care. Pregnant women in prison often do not receive proper prenatal or postnatal care, and many prisons lack female doctors entirely. The Justice Krishna Iyer Committee (1987) had specifically recommended that women doctors conduct medical examinations upon admission – a recommendation that is still not widely implemented.

The question of menstrual hygiene is also critical. A Rajya Sabha question raised in November 2024 addressed the issue of menstrual equity in prisons, noting that only a fraction of women inmates are lodged in all-women jails where such basic needs might be partially met. The Model Prison Manual, 2016 does state that sanitary pads should be provided to women prisoners, but actual compliance varies significantly from state to state.

Children living with mothers in prison 🔗

A large number of incarcerated women are mothers, and many have young children living with them inside prison. The National Commission for Women’s study on women prisoners in Eastern Uttar Pradesh documented the challenges these children face – from inadequate nutrition and clothing to the absence of proper crèches and educational facilities. The Indian Jail Manual provides that trained nurses should look after children in jail, and that nutritious diets should be given to pregnant women. But the ground reality falls well short of these standards.

In R.D. Upadhyaya v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court directed that the birthplace of a child born to a prisoner mother should not be recorded as “prison” on the birth certificate, recognising the lifelong stigma such a record would carry. Despite such progressive judgments, only 22 prisons in the country reportedly had functional crèches as of 2025.

Sexual exploitation and custodial violence 🔗

Sexual assault and exploitation remain among the most disturbing human rights violations faced by women in custody. The National Human Rights Commission recorded 39 rape cases in judicial and police custody over just five years from 2006 to 2010 – and these are only the reported cases. The power imbalance between prison staff and inmates creates an environment where exploitation often goes unreported. Women face invasive body searches, harassment, and in some cases outright assault – practices that the Bangkok Rules and Indian law both clearly prohibit.

Lack of vocational training and education 🔗

A 2018 report by the Ministry of Women and Child Development found that most prisons did not offer universal education to women inmates. Access to higher education was nearly nonexistent, and even where libraries existed, women prisoners could not always use them. Vocational training options remain limited – in some prisons, the only skill-building available is basic embroidery or sanitary pad manufacturing, with wages far below the minimum wage. The absence of meaningful training severely hampers women’s ability to reintegrate into society after release.

International standards: the Bangkok Rules 🔗

The United Nations Bangkok Rules, adopted by the General Assembly in December 2010, are the first international set of rules specifically addressing the treatment of women prisoners. These 70 rules supplement existing standards like the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Tokyo Rules. They cover areas such as admission procedures, healthcare, sanitation, contact with families, training of prison staff, and gender-sensitive classification and management.

The Bangkok Rules explicitly acknowledge that prison systems worldwide have historically been designed for the majority male population – from architecture to security procedures to healthcare. They call on member states to adopt gender-responsive approaches and to prioritise non-custodial alternatives for women offenders wherever possible. India, as a UN member state, is expected to align its prison practices with these standards, but implementation has been uneven.

Reform committees and their recommendations 🔗

India has seen several important committees examine the conditions of women prisoners over the decades. The Mulla Committee (1980-83), chaired by Justice A.N. Mulla, submitted a report with 658 recommendations, 35 of which dealt specifically with women. These included housing women in separate institutions, staffing women’s prisons entirely with female personnel, and extending probation more liberally to women offenders.

The Krishna Iyer Committee (1987), formally known as the National Expert Committee on Women Prisoners, went further. It recommended that women be informed of their legal rights upon admission, that only female constables conduct body searches, that female doctors be made available, and that mothers be permitted to keep their children with them. The committee also called for greater recruitment of women into the police force and framed a draft Model Prison Manual with a dedicated chapter on children of women prisoners.

More recently, the Justice Amitava Roy Panel (2018-2020) proposed maintaining a minimum lawyer-to-prisoner ratio and setting up fast-track courts to reduce the population of undertrials – a disproportionate share of whom are women from marginalised backgrounds.

The Model Prison Manual, 2016 and recent developments 🔗

The revised Model Prison Manual of 2016 places special emphasis on provisions for women, including CCTV usage consistent with dignity and privacy, written records of searches, and gender-sensitivity training for all prison staff. It mandates that women should, wherever possible, be housed in facilities specifically built for them.

In 2023, the government introduced the Model Prison and Correctional Services Act, 2023, which marks a shift from the punitive colonial-era Prisons Act of 1894 to a framework emphasising rehabilitation, education, and rights-based prison management. It includes provisions for separate accommodation for women, mental health support, and technology-driven prison administration. However, since prisons remain a State subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, implementation depends entirely on whether individual states adopt and enforce these guidelines.

The gap between law and reality 🔗

The single most striking fact about women’s imprisonment in India is the gap between stated protections and actual conditions. Multiple Supreme Court judgments, committee recommendations, and policy manuals direct improvements – yet overcrowding persists, female staff remain a small fraction of total prison personnel (about 8% as of recent estimates), and basic facilities like clean water, adequate food, and functioning toilets remain inconsistent. Women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBC communities are disproportionately represented among inmates, and many enter the system unable to afford legal representation.

Much of this stems from prison administration being a state responsibility, which means reforms depend on the political will and financial capacity of individual state governments. The Model Prison Manual and national policies can recommend changes, but without consistent monitoring and enforcement, they remain aspirational documents.

The path forward 🔗

Meaningful reform requires action on several fronts. First, more women-only prisons need to be established so that female inmates are not housed in makeshift enclosures within male facilities. Second, every prison holding women must be staffed with female doctors, counsellors, and correctional officers. Third, vocational training and education must go beyond token offerings and equip women with real skills for life after release. Fourth, legal aid must be made accessible from the point of arrest, not merely during trial – especially for women from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not even know they are entitled to bail.

At the international level, India should work toward full implementation of the Bangkok Rules, integrating their principles into state prison manuals. At the domestic level, strengthening the role of Undertrial Review Committees, expanding bail reform, and establishing functional crèches and healthcare centres within all prisons housing women would be concrete steps forward.

What do you think? Given that so many recommendations have already been made over decades, what do you believe is the biggest barrier to actually improving conditions for women prisoners in India – is it a lack of political will, funding, or public awareness? And should non-custodial alternatives be the default for women convicted of non-violent offences?

References

1. https://www.policyedge.in/p/ncrbs-prison-statistics-india-2023
2. https://www.indiaspend.com/governance/half-a-million-indians-behind-bars-74-still-awaiting-trial-968804
3. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-12934-women-prisoners-in-india.html
4. https://www.jusscriptumlaw.com/post/human-rights-of-female-prisoners-in-india
5. https://pwonlyias.com/current-affairs/ncrb-reports-highlights/
6. https://sabrangindia.in/counting-the-caged-what-indias-prison-data-refuses-to-see/
7. https://www.ijrar.org/papers/IJRAR1AXP008.pdf
8. https://ncwapps.nic.in/pdfReports/A_Study_of_condition_of_Women_Prisoners_and_Their_Children_in_Eastern_UP_Jails.pdf
9. https://cjp.org.in/are-women-entitled-to-special-provisions-in-prison/
10. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/united-nations-rules-treatment-women-prisoners-and-non-custodial
11. https://www.penalreform.org/issues/women/bangkok-rules/
12. https://www.clearias.com/prison-reforms/