Punjab jails fail to provide women inmates with sanitary pads and laundry facilities

The Comptroller Auditor General Report tabled in the Punjab Assembly has revealed serious gaps in basic facilities for women inmates in Punjab’s prisons, including inadequate supply of sanitary pads and lack of proper laundry systems.The Punjab Government’s 2015 notification required 5–10 sanitary pads per month for each woman inmate up to the age of 50. But in 12 out of 18 test-checked jails, this minimum was not met between 2020 and 2023. Only District Jail Mansa supplied the prescribed number.In most jails, the supply was far below the norm. Central Jail Amritsar provided only 2–4 pads per month, while Bathinda and Sri Muktsar Sahib supplied almost none. Inmates in Amritsar, Faridkot, and Women Jail Ludhiana had to buy pads from jail canteens.The Government claimed pads were issued on medical officers’ recommendations and supplemented by NGO donations or canteen purchases. But the audit found no records to support this.It concluded that women inmates across Punjab, except in Mansa, were denied even the minimum prescribed supply, compromising menstrual hygiene.Rules require prisoners’ clothing and bedding to be washed and boiled every three months, with hospital clothing cleaned more frequently. Central and District jails were supposed to have mechanised laundries and boilers for this purpose.Yet, nine of the 18 test-checked jails had no mechanised washing machines, and none had boilers.The Government acknowledged the shortfall in March 2024, stating that 17 vertical washing machines had been provided to seven jails and that boilers were “under consideration.”Auditors noted that nearly two years after the Punjab Prison Rules (2022) came into force, most jails still lacked proper laundry facilities.

Punjab jails fail to provide women inmates with sanitary pads and laundry facilities

Central Jail Amritsar provided only 2–4 pads per month, while Bathinda and Sri Muktsar Sahib supplied almost none

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Punjab jails fail to provide women inmates with sanitary pads and laundry facilities

Central Jail Amritsar provided only 2–4 pads per month, while Bathinda and Sri Muktsar Sahib supplied almost none

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

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