Orissa, Women's Day: Sr. Meena Barwa visits prisoners

The Indian religious, victim of violence by Hindu radicals in 2008, met the 16 inmates of Jharsuguda prison. The penitentiary also houses 264 men. The Ursuline nuns organize English and computer courses. The faces of the prisoners "shone with joy and my heart overflowed with happiness".

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Sr. Meena Barwa has chosen to celebrate International Women's Day by visiting the prisoners in Jharsuguda prison in Orissa.

On March 7, the Indian nun spent an hour with them, comforting and supporting them in the suffering of life behind bars.

She told AsiaNews: "I pray for these imprisoned women, I am happy to have brought them some joy and hope".

The religious participated in the prison visit program organized by the Ursuline nuns. 16 women and 264 men are imprisoned in the Jharsuguda penitentiary. Here a group of priests and nuns teach English and computer courses.

Sr. Meena says that "prisoners appreciate teaching a lot and believe it can help them in the future. It is a small initiative of the religious who take care of them. I hope it will be useful."

The nun suffered to sexual violence during the 2008 pogroms. Regarding the meeting with the detainees, she said: "Even if we only had one hour of time, the women were very happy. It was not possible to speak to them individually, but only in a group. Their faces shone with joy. My heart overflowed with happiness”.

The condition of these women, adds Sr. Barwa, “is really sad: they are separated from families and children. This separation causes them great physical and emotional suffering. They are also part of a society that does not treat them equally. Equality is the theme of the world day, but these women live in discrimination, their suffering is tremendous, they suffer from violence and poverty, from the lack of health and education services, they have few rights and rarely manage to pursue legal appeals."

Finally she reiterates: "I will keep them in my prayers."

• india
• orissa
• sr. meena barwa
• detainees
• visit
• prisons
• women's day
• equality
• discrimination