The atmosphere inside the prison varies

Workshops and training courses behind the walls of the Bamako Women's Prison

  • Many female prisoners languish in prisons with their children.

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The tent atmosphere inside Bouleh Women’s Prison in Bamako contrasts amazingly with the reality of the detention centers in the Sahel region in general. The detainees there follow courses in soap-making workshops, hairdressing, etc., teaching them a profession that they can practice in the future.

The visitor passes through the rusty high door, amid wide walls of earth-coloured stone. Inside the Sahel prison, the only prison for women, besides Nouakchott prison in Mauritania, he does not find anything reminiscent of the overcrowded and unsanitary prisons of the region.

Of course, there are female guards, and some guards who move between the existing buildings within the vast walled compound, but there are not many weapons and uniforms.

On the other hand, women can be seen grinding grain, and children playing in the nursery.

After four o'clock, no man is allowed.

Maryam S., the dean of female prisoners in the Women and Minors Detention Centre, says that solidarity prevails among its 144 inmates, explaining, "We are standing together."

"When a new (prisoner) arrives, who does not know the prison rules, we accompany her," says the woman, wearing a scarf in front of her kohl-lined eyes.

"We don't consider Bole a detention center," explained Babu Tugura of the National Directorate of Prison Administration, as it was built in workshops, where women could acquire a profession in the future, pointing to a basketball court on the site.

The story of this prison began during the 1991 revolution, the pivotal year in Mali’s history. With the coup that overthrew Moussa Traoré, the country took the path of democracy, but the investigator, Gabriel Flazan Sidibe, assistant director of Bole, said that prisoners in Bamako prison “took advantage of the revolution to assault female prisoners.” .

slow court proceedings

Then a decision was taken to establish a separate prison, which was established in 1999, and is still one of the rare prisons designated exclusively for women in the region.

Other prisons in Mali and elsewhere have women's sections separate from men.

Sidibe explained that the women in Bamako prison "did everything they could to gather here."

The quietness of life in prison hides the harsh reality of the coast.

Amid years of security and political problems, Mali remains one of the poorest countries in the world, and Bole's imprisonment continues only thanks to foreign aid.

Ibrahim Tunkara, Director of the Prisons Administration, admitted in front of representatives of the United Nations Development Program, who presented a gift, “It must be recognized that without the support of partners, the situation would have been complicated.”

In light of the slow judiciary, the vast majority of female prisoners did not undergo trial, and the administration estimated their number at two-thirds.

A prisoner from behind the bars of the courtyard says in English, "Hello, how are you?"

The Nigerian, who refuses to give her name, says that she has been there for a year and seven months, and she is still waiting to be brought before a judge.

"That's how it is here," she adds, in strong accented French.

And 19 of the 144 women prisoners are foreigners from neighboring countries, but also from Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

"You find all the crimes you can think of," Sidibe says.

mothers fault

Most of the women in Bole are accused of violence, murder, infanticide and beating, but some are also accused of theft, or involvement in human and drug trafficking.

A few months ago, a woman accused of terrorism was released.

Some of them are imprisoned with their children.

The prison houses 19 children who run between the slides and the nursery.

• In light of the slow judiciary, the large majority of female prisoners did not undergo trial, and the administration estimated their number at two-thirds.

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