Col. Ayoub Nehait, spokesman for the Directorate General of Prisons, related the story of some female prisoners who remain behind bars after serving their term. These women could not be released when their prison sentences were over because their guardians refused to receive them despite impassioned pleas and they remained behind bars. Finally their guardians were summoned to receive their dead bodies from the morgue of the prison hospital. This unreasonable requirement has led to many unmarried female prisoners accepting any male as her suitor just so that she can acquire a male guardian who can sign her out when her prison term is over. It is inhuman and an insult to the dignity of the woman who has finished paying her dues to society. Recently a father who had a quarrel with his son took him to court and had him sentenced to prison. The court specified the sentence period as “until his guardian forgives him and requests for his release”. If the father's anger does not subside and he does not forgive his son, then the son will face the same fate as that of the female prisoners – the hospital morgue will be awaiting him the way it is awaiting the female prisoners and eventually the guardian would have to sign his dead body out. Because parents have raised and educated us, they do have some rights. But jail sentences ought to be for specific periods and not depend on the whims of guardians who caused them to be sentenced. The verdict should not leave the period for the penalty unspecified, so that the new generation will know the punishment if their guardians are angry with them. Furthermore, society ought to find a solution to the issue of female prisoners who have completed their prison terms. The matter should not be left to the moods of their male guardians. After completing his jail term, a criminal, even if he is a drug dealer, can leave prison without the necessity for anyone to receive him. A female prisoner or a disobedient son on the other hand cannot leave prison if the father or guardian fails to accept their release. The principle of guardianship is meant to protect under-aged children and women. The state during olden times assigned the “father, husband and brother” to protect them. As for now, the modern state is capable of protecting all its citizens. Therefore, it is unjust to keep an individual behind bars after completion of their prison term even if for a single day or to imprison him or her without specifying the period because their guardian is upset with them.
