Mar 11, 2018

Women inside jails honored: Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards released for women prisoners doing extraordinary service inside jails

On the occasion of International Womens Day: Awards released in front of National Memorial Cellular Jail, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Two categories- one honoring skill and Kaushal and other honoring art and creativity

· Out of the 5 awardees, one is on death sentence and 3 on life imprisonment

· Femida Hanif Saiyad, lodged in Nagpur jail, Maharashtra, has been chosen for helping the prison administration.

· 38-year old Minaben Harsurbhai Khuman, imprisoned in Central jail, Rajkot, Gujarat has been chosen for teaching children of the inmates lodged in the jail.

· 30-year old, Saroj Devi, lodged in District Jail, Firozabad, UP, has been chosen for her contribution for stitching clothes for the inmates as well as the children of the inmates.   

· Awards are initiated by Vartika Nanda, Prison Reformer & Founder, Tinka Tinka, first of its series on jails

5 women have been chosen for the Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards for the year 2018. Femida Hanif Saiyad, lodged in Nagpur jail, Maharashtra, has been chosen for helping the prison administration and also taking part in creative activities inside jail. 54-year old Femidais in jail since 2012 and has been awarded death sentence. She is currently pursuing B.A. second year through IGNOU. She has been chosen under the category of skill and Kaushal.

38-year old, Minaben Harsurbhai Khuman, imprisoned in Central jail, Rajkot, Gujarat has been strongly recommended by the Gujarat Jail authorities for her meritorious services as a teacher. Serving life imprisonment in the jail, she has dedicated herself to teach children of the inmates lodged in the jail. The jail authorities consider her as a role model for other inmates.  

30-year old, Saroj Devi, lodged in District Jail, Firozabad has been chosen for these awards for her contribution for stitching clothes for the inmates as well as the children of the inmates. Lodged in jail since 2014, her contribution towards Swachta Abhiyan in jail and also encouraging inmates to play has yielded positive results.

 26 year old convict, Muskan Oatwani, imprisoned in Central Jail, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh has been chosen for First Prize in the category of Painting.

27-year old Baby Sahu, convict in Central Jail, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh has also been chosen as an awardee in this category. They have both made sketches depicting the life of women and children inside the jails.

Awards were released at the backdrop of the National Memorial of Cellular Jail, Andamans by Rashmi Singh IAS, Secretary, Social Welfare and General Administration, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The awardees will be presented with a certificate and a special bedsheet designed and made by inmates of Ujjain Prison, Madhya Pradesh. This is an attempt to promote skills inside jails.

About the Awards: Initiated for the first time in 2016, these awards have been conceptualized for women inmates contributing towards the betterment of the jails and showing clear signs of reformation. All these names have been selected after receiving nominations from the officials responsible for different prisons. These awards are aimed to bring change in the lives of the inmates and draw attention towardshuman rights. Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards gives voice to women empowerment inside jail every year on the occasion of International Womens Day. This is third in row. Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards for 2016 were released by Smt Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women & Child Development.

Background: Tinka Tinka is an initiative by Dr Vartika Nanda, a prison reformer to bring change in the lives of the inmates. Vartika Nanda is the founder of TINKA TINKA, first of its kind in India on prison reforms. Her book, Tinka Tinka Tihar, entered into Limca Book of Records while the latest book Tinka Tinka Dasna is a unique book with reporting form inside jails. She has already written three songs for three different jails. Her website on jails, www.tinkatinkaprisonreforms.org was released by Shri Kiren Rijuji, MOS, Home in 2016 while her song, Tinka Tinka Tihar, was released by the Lok Sabha Speaker Smt Sumitra Mahajan in 2016.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

My heartiest congratulations Dr Vartika Nanda for the steadfast work you are doing on this unique theme. My best wishes for future too for reaching out to esp those women who may be behind bars and yet not guilty of any crime

Ananya said...

This is a great initiative by Tinka Tinka. This award will give incentive to inmates to develop their talents and creativity. The work of Dr. Vartika Nanda, the founder of the movement of prison reforms in India, is a testament to the idea that rehabilitation and not punishment is the answer. I hope new categories are also added to the awards. It is also very good to know that organizations are recognizing the hard work of prison staff and administrations. It will motivate them to do better. #awards #tinkatinka #vartikananda #prisonreforms