Africa-Press – Mauritius. Some 14 women detainees and two women prison officers/ senior women officers were presented their certificate, this morning, at the Prison Staff Training School in Beau Bassin, following professional rug-making training under the Rug Mat Project.
The project, which is an upcycling programme, is an initiative of Ciel Textile Ltd in collaboration with the Mauritius Prison Service. It consists in the transformation of industrial material wastes into high-quality products.
Its objective is to empower women detainees by enabling them to learn a new trade for better rehabilitation and social reintegration after their release.
The Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo; the Acting Commissioner of Prisons, Mr Jaganaden Rungadoo; the Chief Executive Officer of CIEL Textile Ltd, Mr Eric Dorchies; and other officials were present at the ceremony.
In her address, the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity underlined that the challenges for women detainees were reintegration into society, and securing employment and a new life outside the prison walls.
She therefore congratulated the women detainees for their positive attitude and determination in acquiring relevant skills upon which to build their post-prison life.
Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo underscored that a good support network was a pre-requisite for the rehabilitation and integration of former women prisoners in society.
She thus welcomed public-private partnerships such as the Rug Mat Project that encouraged women detainees to lead their lives and have financial security in an honest way after their release.
Moreover, she recalled the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Mauritius Prison Service and the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) for the reintegration of women detainees into society.
She mentioned too the agreement with the Prison Service for the provision of breakfast, lunch and dinner, prepared by inmates, for families seeking refuge in the Social and Community Centres during cyclones.
The Minister highlighted as well the commitment of Government to work towards an inclusive society. She was adamant that this endeavour would require the participation of the public sector, private companies, non-governmental organisations, and the civil society.
For his part, the Acting Commissioner of Prisons saluted the rehabilitation work undertaken by, and the dedication of, the prison officers. He indicated that women detainees accounted for 5% of the total 2,425 carceral population, and informed that almost half of the 139 women detainees were foreigners.
Mr Jaganaden Rungadoo stressed that the ‘Tokyo Rules’, which are the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures, were implemented by the Mauritius Prison Service.
During the ceremony, a MoU between the Mauritius Prison Service and Consolidated Dyeing Limited Knits (CDL) of Ciel Textile Ltd for the extension of the Rug Mat Project to male detainees was signed by Messrs Dorchies and Rungadoo.
The products made by women inmates in the garment-making workshop, tailoring workshop, pastry units, bakery units, aquaponic training centre, and rug mat workshop in the Women Prison were also on display in an exhibition held for the occasion.
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