Originally published in Farsi at Radio Zamaneh on July 4, 2024
Hamed Farmand, President of Children of Imprisoned Parents International and a member of the Global Prison Nursery Network
More than 100 inmates, ranging from adolescents to adults, pregnant women, and mothers with young children, are held in a facility infamous for its unsanitary conditions and lack of adequate medical, educational, and recreational resources: the Madavan Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Yasuj, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.
This report is based on interviews with former inmates of the women’s ward in Yasuj Prison during the years 2019, 2022, and 2023; a conversation with Hossein Raeesi, a legal expert and professor at Carleton University; and information from official and semi-official sources, including the website of the Iranian Prison Organization, news agencies such as IRNA, ILNA, Fars, Mehr, Daneshjoo, Kabna News, and Boyer News, as well as human rights websites like the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Bidarzani, and the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. This report, which focuses on the conditions of children in the women’s ward of Yasuj Prison, is part of a series of articles I have published with Radio Zamaneh on the situation of children and mothers in Iranian prisons and women’s wards. Previous reports have covered Kachooyi Prison (October 19, 2023), Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz (October 26, 2023), Qarchak Prison (November 27, 2023), Urmia Prison (January 18, 2024), Lakan Prison in Rasht (February 17, 2024), Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad (March 16, 2024), and Khorramabad Prison (June 9, 2024).
Struggle for Survival
While the United Nations standards for the treatment of female prisoners, known as the Bangkok Rules, outline minimum human rights-based and humane treatment for incarcerated women, life for women in Yasuj Prison is a struggle for survival. Rule 48 of the Bangkok Rules emphasizes that pregnant and breastfeeding women must be held in healthy environments and provided free access to health education, proper nutrition, and sports facilities.
Official news regarding the Yasuj Juvenile Rehabilitation Center mentions health initiatives implemented in the prison on several occasions. However, these initiatives were reportedly conducted by individuals connected to the regime, including a former deputy governor of Yasuj, and publicized on official websites like that of the Prison Organization. This makes independent verification of these claims impossible.
On the other hand, reports from human rights organizations and interviews with former inmates contradict the authorities’ claims, highlighting the absence of proper medical care in the women’s ward of Yasuj Prison. A former inmate stated that a room housing “computers for the guards” was used as the prison infirmary, containing only “basic medications.” This room was accessible only from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Former inmates described the prison food as “poor in quality.” A prisoner who was there in 2023 mentioned that following repeated protests from inmates, the food quality had become “bearable.” However, “certain protein-rich foods were removed from the prison diet,” according to the same source.
The prison’s hygiene conditions are dire, as evidenced by reports from various years and interviews with former inmates. These accounts reveal that lice infestations are widespread. According to Bidarzani, inmates suffering from lice infestations were subjected to humiliation by prison guards, with “no hygiene facilities available to address the issue.” Moreover, inmates have no designated storage space for personal belongings, including hygiene products and food items, and are forced to store them on the ground, which is often infested with cockroaches and ants.
Since at least 2019, there has been no shop inside the women’s ward, and the in-ward kitchen has been closed since 2016. Inmates must place weekly orders for essentials through prison guards. According to a former inmate, some food items received through these orders were expired.
These conditions paint a grim picture of life for women and children in Yasuj Prison, far removed from the standards outlined in the Bangkok Rules and basic human rights principles.
The Responsibility of Prison Staff: Overseeing Violence Against Children
According to Article 1 of Rule 51 of the Bangkok Rules, prison authorities are obligated to create conditions where the development of children living with their incarcerated mothers is supervised by specialists. However, our investigation into the conditions of children in prisons of the Islamic Republic, including the Yasuj Juvenile Rehabilitation Center, reveals that instead of ensuring proper growth and supervision, violence against children often occurs under the watch or within the environment controlled by prison authorities.
This violence, mostly perpetrated by other inmates, either against one another or directed at mothers or children, is largely a result of the prison’s environmental conditions. Like many other facilities, the lack of recreational, educational, and sports facilities, coupled with overcrowding, poor food quality, and inadequate healthcare, creates an environment prone to violence and conflict in the women’s ward of Yasuj Prison.
For example, a former inmate recounted to me a group fight where prisoners threw kettles of boiling water at each other, and one kettle “landed next to a child.” The same former inmate stated that the women’s ward in Yasuj Prison lacks a psychological counselor, further exacerbating the tensions and inability to address mental health issues within the facility.
These conditions highlight a fundamental failure in meeting international standards, not only in fostering child development but also in safeguarding children and mothers from harm.
Are Judicial Authorities and Oversight Bodies Unaware of the Lack of Proper Conditions for Children in Prisons, Including the Women’s Ward of Yasuj Prison?
In October 2017, the then-Secretary of the National Convention on the Rights of the Child at the Ministry of Justice, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Iran, deemed the educational and developmental conditions in this prison “adequate” and called for the provision of facilities for mothers to care for children under the age of two. Prior to that, in December 2016, the Director General of the Prison Organization and Educational Affairs in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province had emphasized the necessity of building a nursery as a means of supporting children living with their incarcerated mothers. However, his attention to the issues of female prisoners, including mothers with children, was limited to women imprisoned for non-intentional offenses—a group that typically constitutes a small percentage of inmates.
As a result, according to his approach, even when addressing the issues of children in prisons, the measures taken were discriminatory and contrary to the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Notably, pregnant women are entirely absent from such requests or reports regarding actions taken for the welfare of children and mothers in prisons.
While earlier reports have shown that nurseries do not address fundamental violations of children’s rights in the prison environment, in the women’s ward of Yasuj Prison, even this limited measure—referred to by Islamic Republic authorities as a supportive solution and previously proposed for this prison—has not been implemented.
Female Prisoners in Yasuj: An Example of State Violence and Discrimination Against Incarcerated Women
Although evidence suggests that the Madavan Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Yasuj was inaugurated around the summer of 2010, since 2015, official reports have referred to it as the “Women’s Ward” in Yasuj.
According to accounts from former inmates, this prison has three wards, two for convicted prisoners and one for those awaiting final verdicts. In the fall of 2023, the facility reportedly housed two women with infants and one pregnant woman.
As mentioned earlier, in violation of internal regulations and international laws, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, girls accused of criminal offenses are held alongside adults in the same wards. According to Hossein Raeesi, a legal expert and professor at Carleton University, apart from Tehran and Mashhad, no provincial capital in Iran has a dedicated juvenile rehabilitation center for girls. Even in Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison, what is referred to as a “juvenile rehabilitation center” is merely a section within the women’s ward, where young girls are exposed to adult inmates and their environment.
The Children of Imprisoned Parents International (COIPI), during its research on women’s wards in Iranian prisons, encountered multiple reports of young girls and teenagers being housed as juvenile offenders within these facilities.
Raeesi further noted that “since the mid-2000s, female prisoners have been moved to buildings adjacent to juvenile rehabilitation centers.” He attributed this practice to cost-cutting measures. Consequently, the facilities for “juvenile offenders” have become high-security environments resembling adult prisons, contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international recommendations. Meanwhile, the spaces for women prisoners fail to meet their specific needs.
To initiate meaningful change for children, it is essential first to acknowledge the violations of their rights and those of their mothers as women. The existing conditions must not be normalized, whether due to acceptance of state propaganda or the challenging economic and social circumstances faced by many incarcerated women. Housing a teenage girl with adult prisoners or a young child in an adult prison is never in the child’s best interest. Recognizing the abnormality of these conditions is the first step. From there, as civil and social activists, journalists, or citizens, we can begin to think about sustainable steps to support and protect these children.
Pictures: COIPI’s archive: Qarchak prison, Tasnim News Agency – Erfan Kuchari, May 2019