PESHAWAR, Feb 8: Female juvenile offenders in the province are kept in prisons in violation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance and rules framed under it, claimed legal experts.

Under the law, in no circumstances should juvenile offenders, especially females, be kept in prisons along with adult offenders. Although, no proper Borstal institutions exist for the juvenile offenders in the province, but in some of the prisons separate sections for male juveniles are available. However, no such separate sections are available for female juvenile offenders, and they have been housed with adult women offenders.

The deputy national coordinator of SPARC (Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child), Arshad Mahmood, has said that under Rule 10(3) of the Juvenile Justice System Rules, 2002, female juveniles should in no case be kept in a police lock up or prison.

"Under the rules female juveniles shall be detained in separate enclosure of the Borstal institution exclusively established for this purpose and in case there is no such enclosure, they shall be immediately transferred to any care home as ordered by the court," he added.

The said rules make it binding on the government that it shall establish and maintain a Borstal institution in at least every district of the province to keep and accommodate juveniles as soon as possible.

The chairman of Voice of Prisoner, Advocate Noor Alam Khan, claimed that a number of female juveniles had been booked in different crimes specially under the Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997, for drug pushing. He said that contrary to the provisions of the law these female juveniles had been detained along with adult offenders in different prisons.

Mr Khan informed that there was no separate enclosure for female juveniles in the Peshawar Central prison.

Although, the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, was enacted more than three years ago, but the government has yet to adopt measures for fulfilling some of the basic requirements of the law including the establishment of the Borstal institutions.

Mr Mahmood said by keeping female juveniles along with adult women prisoners, the government had been exposing these child to danger and would bring them in association with any criminal inside.

He stated that after framing of the rules it was the legal responsibility of the government to keep these female offenders separate from adults.