2 May 2005	Monday	22 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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PESHAWAR, May 1: Despite the Probation of Offenders Ordinance, 1960, women prisoners have not been released on probation in the NWFP, legal experts said. The lawyers said that because of the non-availability of any woman probation officer in the province women prisoners could not be released on probation.

Under the law, a woman prisoner may be released on probation after her conviction by the trial court if the crime committed by her is not punishable with death.

Although the Probation of Offenders Ordinance has been in force since 1960, the release of woman prisoners under the law has never been encouraged by governments or the courts concerned.

At present, scores of women are languishing in prisons convicted of varying offences, especially narcotics peddling. However, they are in a disadvantaged position because women probation officers have not been recruited by the NWFP government.

According to the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), two women probation officers were functioning in Punjab, while other provinces do not have such officers.

The organization claimed that it was their long-standing demand to appoint at least five women officers in the NWFP. However, to the day the government had turned a deaf ear to their demands, claimed Arshad Mahmood, Sparc deputy coordinator.

Under section 5(2) of the ordinance where a court by which any female person is convicted of any offence, other than an offence punishable with death, is of the opinion that it is expedient to do so the court may instead of sentencing the person at once, make a probation order requiring her to be under the supervision of a probation officer for such period, not being less than one year or more than three years.

The Probation of Offender Rules were framed under the ordinance. Under the rules no female prisoner could be placed under supervision of a male probation officer.

An official of the Probation and Reclamation Department confided to this reporter that contrary to the rules in few of the cases female offenders were placed under their supervision.

Voice of Prisoners chairman Noor Alam Khan said that keeping a woman or children in the prison should be considered as a last resort and releasing them on probation should be encouraged.