Fifty female inmates who stripped naked to protest against being transferred to another prison intend stepping up their action by going on a hunger strike, a prisoners’ organisation said on Friday.
Golden Miles Bhudu, spokesperson for the South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr), said the protest started on Thursday at Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. It was sparked by a pending transfer to another prison further away from the prisoners’ families.
He said the transfer was in contravention of the Department of Correctional Services’ policies, which require that prisoners be held as close as possible to where they will live after being released.
”Sapohr has been informed that female inmates were told they would be transferred to a prison in Queenstown to open up space for almost 100 of their male fellow offenders.”
The protest, which involves women stripping, is known as eSiwehla.
Bhudu said the women will not wear any clothing nor eat anything until the order to transfer them has been revoked. ”As an organisation we are supportive of these courageous moves taken by female inmates … they are standing up for their rights.”
He said moving the women away from loved ones will just take from them the only hope they have of ”looking forward to paying their dues and returning to their families one day”.
This, he said, is because family members will find it difficult to travel to Queenstown for visits.
The Department of Correctional Services could not be reached for comment. — Sapa