Education prospects grim for children imprisoned with moms

Fatima (not her real name) lives with her mother and a younger brother in Pul-e Charkhi prison, in the eastern outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. The 12–year–old was first brought to the prison four years ago, after a court sentenced her mother to 11 years for murdering her husband. “There are six women and seven children living with us in a single cell,” complained Fatima. Unlike other children in Kabul, both Fatima and her brother are deprived of an education, because there is no school in Pul-e Charkhi prison, Afghanistan’s biggest jail. “I dream of being able to go to school just like other girls,” she said. Fatima’s education prospects are grim. In the absence of a male guardian outside the prison, both children are likely to stay with their mother until she is released in 2014. Read more at IRIN News.