Giving them a second chance...

This week You! talks to a British-Pakistani Sofia Buncy, Co-Founder and National Coordinator of the ‘Muslim Women in Prison Project’, who strives to help Muslim women prisoners in UK...

while men make up a large majority of inmates in prison, the remaining percentage of inmates are women, who face unique challenges. Despite what television might lead us to believe, a day in the life of a woman in prison has its own set of problems. Not only do they suffer from mental health issues, but also they do not get the care they need. One woman who is working towards bettering this situation is Sofia Buncy, a British-Pakistani who is the Co-Founder and National Coordinator of the ‘Muslim Women in Prison Project’ (MWIP Project). She is not only helping Muslim women behind bars in the UK, but is also supporting them to readjust to society and lead a better life. A graduate in BSc (Hons) Behavioural Sciences and later a Post Graduate in Professional Studies, Sofia talks about her initiative and how it works to help women inmates...

You! How are things for Muslim Asian women growing up in the UK?

Sofia Buncy: Gender roles for Asian Muslim girls are still very much being negotiated by families and communities in the UK. Traditional mindsets, norms and values are still being acted out here and are slow to change. This impedes progress and hinders them from fulfilling their rightful roles. This is also a point of tension between different generations particularly those who continue to sit comfortably in their traditional mindsets.

At the same time, women find the UK as a much safer society compared to Pakistan where public incidents of physical violence and sexual violence against women and young people are rife and unfortunately accepted as a norm. The British criminal justice system comparatively is considered to be sound and well-structured, which provides recourse for addressing criminality. Therefore, Muslim women especially have a channel to address some of the cultural malpractices brought over to the UK being acted out against them.

You! The number of Muslim women prisoners is not very high, what caught your attention to start working for this project?

SB: Through my community development work, I came across a number of former women prisoners who had been referred to me for help and support. As my work with them developed, I only became too aware of multiple issues, fears and anxieties these women harboured. What was very obvious was the loneliness and isolation of these women before being committed, throughout incarceration and post release. As I helped to navigate their issues within our community and with other agencies, I realised the lack of understanding and empathy and support structures for these women and this was what prompted me to look into this area of pressing need. If we look at the proportion of Muslim women in British prison - in the female prison estate - then they make up just over 6 per cent of the female prison population and growing.

You! What is the role of ‘Khidmat Centres’?

SB: I have been with my new employer ‘Khidmat Centres’ for over a year and a half now. It is here that I am trialling the community resettlement model for Muslim women coming out of prison. Khidmat Centres is a Bradford-based registered charity with particular focus on working with marginalised/stigmatised members of the community, for example people with learning disabilities; elderly with physical and mental health issues; women and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The organisation has a culture of tackling taboo issues and hence our decision to base our prisoner resettlement hub in this set up.

These centres have a range of facilities and services which offer a holistic and inclusive care package. And the Muslim Women in Prison Project has regional and national reach due to the work we do around policy and impact but also the fact that our clients come from all over the UK.

You! Tell us about the ‘Muslim Women in Prison Project’.

SB: The pilot project started in 2014 at HM Prison New Hall in Wakefield and Askham Grange in North Yorkshire after a governor said that “something’s happening with the Muslim residents in prison and we’re not sure what.” The focus of the project is to give women a second chance so they can reconstruct their lives back into the community and out of the vicious circle of criminality, whilst navigating through complex cultural norm and traditions which may have contributed to their incarceration.

The project is relevant because there isn’t a lot of understanding within the British Criminal Justice System (which is very Eurocentric) of the complex nature of criminality within diverse faith, cultural, ethnic groups, particularly of the British Muslims.

You! How do you help women prisoners?

SB: Our first report titled ‘Muslim Women in Prison’ documents that within our research cohort the women who we worked with were incarcerated for various crimes. These ranged from petty crime, such as theft or sham marriage to complex crimes such as drugs, manslaughter and murder. What was obvious from our first study was that in the majority of cases there was a ‘male hand’ behind the crime or a level of family coercion using social stigma and family dishonour as tools to manipulate.

Our clients face multiple issues both in custody and post custody at polar ends of support. During custody a woman’s needs can be very diverse such as control from family, alternatively being ostracised by family and having no prison visits. Mental health and self-harm are also very real issues in custodial setting. All this is compounded by loneliness, isolation, a system which does not necessarily understand the particular needs of this group and hence the work which the project does - to raise awareness - is so important. Post release we provide practical help in a number of areas such as housing, accessing benefits. We also provide volunteering opportunities for serving prisoners in ‘open prisons’ as well as those that have been released. Our ‘job shop’ has also been very active in helping ex-prisoners into education and employment and provides a route out of re-offending.

You! Do you think UK’s judicial system is not capable of giving justice to them?

SB: Recent Government reports - particularly the latest report by MP David Lammy on disproportionate sentencing of Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic person - show a disparity in sentencing of people of colour. Within this prism, Muslim women experience triple penalties on the basis of gender, race and faith in the context of rising Islamophobia, racism and extreme right wing activities.

You! How do you help them reintegrate into society?

SB: It is true that our own ‘community’ does not accept the very notion of women committing a criminal act and therefore are very unforgiving towards them. We have also observed that ‘our community’ has more of benevolent attitude towards male criminality. I am often reminded of a saying by Pakistanis that ‘Prisons are made for men’. There is a tendency to not acknowledge women and criminality and keep it under wraps. Therefore, much of our work is also about raising awareness, educating and enabling our community to take ownership.

In some cases, families can be reluctant to forgive and require a lot of help to think through their dilemmas and fears. Through our project, we are able to provide the input and level of intervention required.

You! What happens to the children born in prison?

SB: Some prisons have a ‘Mother and Baby’ unit which is like a nursery. Therefore, children born in prison can remain in the unit with their mothers up until 18 months, enabling the maternal bond to be developed. However, at times Muslim women often have serious reservation of giving birth to and keeping babies in prison to counter the cultural and social stigma of having a ‘prison baby’.

You! How many women have you rehabilitated so far?

SB: At any given time, our project is in touch with on average 55 women, both within the prisons and past the prison gate. In 2018 alone, the project directly supported 18 women in various ways to integrate back into society. Of these, none of the women supported re-offended. In fact, they have moved on into education, employment or reconstructing their family life. For us, it is apparent that our practical approach combined with religious and cultural sensitivity that we bring to the rehabilitation model is proving to be effective.

You! Tell us about the women you have rehabilitated?

SB: There are two who come to mind. Sarah, who served a three-year sentence, was relocated with her husband and children through the project in order to avoid community shame. She was also assisted in rebuilding her confidence, overcome her panic attacks and anxiety. The release period often brings more anxiety to women and they feel they cannot cope on the ‘outside’ as in some forms they are institutionalised. The project has helped her gain full-time employment giving her financial freedom and stability. Sarah now lives with her family and is working closely with the project to campaign and speak out about the particular issues around Muslim mothers and incarceration.

Another case we came across was Miriam, a young adult trapped in a life of family abuse, control and manipulation and ended up in prison. But, even whilst in prison her family continued to manipulate her. She became depressed and withdrawn within herself, indulging in self-harm. The project picked her prior to her release and relocated her as she feared family. She was supported in housing, accessing financial support and rebuilding her mental health; as well as her life skills to live independently such as cooking, using public transport and paying bills. She is now studying at a local college and working towards going to university!

You! Do you work with individuals/groups of the Asian community to accept these women?

Sofia: Our project has significantly contributed to raising the profile of Muslim women, their experiences and their issues both amongst our own community and other local and national providers and stakeholders. Since the report and the subsequent work which we have done, the issue is very much in focus and part of conversations within the community. The fact that the work has received some major national awards has also helped to consolidate its importance.

The project has proactively sought out opportunities to enable conversations and give interviews particularly in the Islamic faith based media. This has been done with the intention of raising awareness of this issue directly in people’s ‘living rooms’ as these channels are very popular amongst our community.

We are also in the process of writing a second report around Muslim women’s Post Prison Resettlement, based on our best practice. This will be complemented by a short film which we are making which for the first time captures the voices and experiences of Muslim women who have come through the Criminal Justice System and their families.

You! Based on your work, do you have any recommendations for Pakistani authorities?

SB: In countries like Pakistan, there are a number of areas which could be looked at. There is a need to raise awareness of the plight of women prisoners and their experiences in prison.

The prison system should be humane in meeting basic needs, addressing equality and practice - do the oppressive attitudes outside of the prison also mirrored within the four walls?

The media plays a very important role in providing this insight into the plight of these women. There should be ‘Prisoner Voice’ forums within prisons where inmates can discuss issues of equality and areas of need; including an assessment of whether the ‘Mother and child’ facilities in prison are adequate and fit for purpose.

Moreover, there should be community-based projects working to resettle women on release. The initiative needs to come from the NGOs in Pakistan working with the government, bearing in mind that often there isn’t political will and this area is not considered priority. On the production of our second report, there may be areas of practice which may be replicated in Pakistani prisons, being only too aware that Pakistan is a very different setup.