Women prisoners and their children face a double vulnerability within India's criminal justice system. Examine this with reference to the recent NHRC Advisory, and suggest a gender-responsive framework for prison reform.

On 31 December 2022, 1,537 women prisoners had 1,764 children living with them in jail. About 85% of these mothers were undertrials [2]. The NHRC's October 2026 Advisory recognises a double vulnerability: women held in a system built for men, and children confined for no offence [1].

Double vulnerability

Women

• Pre-trial detention: most mothers in jail have not been convicted. Section 479 BNSS frees undertrials only after one-third or half of the maximum sentence. It ignores pregnancy and caregiving [6].
• Health and dignity: there are gaps in menstrual hygiene and mental-health care. Overcrowding at 131.4% leaves little space for women-specific facilities [3].
• Family ties: moving prisons out of cities breaks family contact [3].

Children

• Childhood behind bars: the Model Prison Manual 2016 lets children up to 6 stay with their mothers, with a crèche and nursery [5]. But 1,764 children across 1,330 jails is about one per jail, so these facilities are rarely viable [2][3].
• The invisible separated child: NCRB counts only children inside jail, so those outside fall off welfare radars [4].

NHRC Advisory: what it adds

• It goes to nine Union Ministries and to the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all States/UTs. It covers legal aid, court production, mulakat, children living with and separated from their mothers, a child database, and rehabilitation [1].
• Limits: it is recommendatory, and the ATR due in two months is self-reported [1]. The Manual and the Model Act 2023 bind only States that adopt them [7].

A gender-responsive framework

PREVENT → CUSTODY → CHILD → ACCOUNTABILITY → REINTEGRATE

Flowchart: a framework across the whole lifecycle of custody

• Prevention: need-based arrests and interim bail for pregnant and lactating women [3]. Mothers should come first in every Section 479 review [6].
• Custody: separate enclosures staffed only by women, with maternal and mental-health care [5].
• Child-centric: CNCP status under the JJ Act; NCRB data on children outside; a planned exit at age six [4].
• Accountability: State-wise ATRs published; a National Policy on Custodial Women [3].
• Reintegration: skilling and post-release support [1].

The Advisory moves the focus from prison buildings to mothers and children. If States adopt the Model Act and give priority to mothers in bail reviews, India can uphold the Bangkok Rules and Article 21's guarantee of dignity, advancing SDGs 5 and 16.