The female prisoners in Sittwe jail have been facing
human rights violations from the prison authorities regularly, said a woman
leader of an organization.
The women prisoners are facing problems every day.
They are not only forced to work hard, but also being assaulted by the prison
authorities.
They are forced to work inside buildings and even
asked to clean bushes and carry water.
"There are two
female officials who have been engaging in oppressing female prisoners. Even when somebody is not feeling well,
she is not allowed to take rest,” described the woman leader.
Moreover, the women prisoners are deprived of
medications in need.
"The officers even rebuke the Rakhine prisoners
when they ask for menstrual precautionary items. They don't get those
items in jail,” she added.
The female prisoners need to sit from 4:20 to 7:00 am
in a queue. They have to sit on the squat at 7:20 am for hot water. During the afternoon hours (5 to 7:30 pm) they are
again insulted.
The concern for security of women prisoners is also
raised as more women have been arrested for political activism in the last few
months.
Since the military coup in Myanmar, the military
council has arrested more than 3,400 women, out of them over 600 have already
died, said a statement from the Myanmar/Burma Women's Union (BWU).