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Inmates celebrate second chance on International Women's Day
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Irene is a dancer and inmate at Paledang Prison in Bogor, West Java. (JP/Devina Heriyanto)
I
rene is a dancer. She is also an inmate. So were the other male and female dancers performing at the Italian Cultural Institute in Jakarta on Wednesday.
As one of 60 women among 800 inmates at Paledang Prison in Bogor, West Java, Irene told the audience during the celebration of International Women’s Day that she was doing time for her involvement “in a brawl and misunderstanding.”
“At first I was scared having to spend my daily life in prison. But [… ] at the prison I joined some workshops to create handicrafts. I also took dance lessons.”
Quran reading sessions also helped strengthen her spirituality and confidence, she said.
“Now I know her as a talented dancer and dance instructor”, said Mega Sihombing, a singer who entertained the audience with her Italian pianist husband, Mauro Goia.
The celebration focused on inmates’ second chance in life, said Second Chance Foundation chairwoman Evy Harjono Amir Syamsuddin. The wife of the former minister of law and human rights, Evy emphasized the pressing issue of women’s empowerment in correctional facilities, which is the focus of the foundation.
According to 2014 national figures, there are almost 150,000 female prisoners.
"I've seen that some of the inmates are still young and some are mothers," said Evy. Some inmates even have to give birth in prison, without adequate medical help, she added.
She said that although the Indonesian word for correctional institution – lembaga pemasyarakatan – implies an aim of reintegrating inmates to society, many former inmates still faced stigma and discrimination upon finishing their sentences.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said he hoped companies would support rehabilitation efforts through their corporate social responsibility programs so that more products of inmates could be of good export quality.
Among others, Evy cited as examples prisons in West Java that had cooperated with a football manufacturer in making soccer balls and prisons that made rattan products exported to Europe and Asia.
Italian Ambassador Vittorio Sandalli told The Jakarta Post the event was part of his government’s work “to raise awareness of gender disparities, which happens everywhere, including in Europe.”
He told the audience that Italy “gives support to the role of women as peace builders and development builders with cooperation projects intended to manage the consequences of war on women and strengthen the contribution they can make to the solution of conflicts.”
