Born behind bars: What it’s like to raise a baby in Gaza’s prisons
Incarcerated women in Gaza, often ostracized by their families and communities, must relinquish their children to uncertain lives at 2 years of age.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Fourteen-month-old Barra took his first steps in a prison cell no more than 5 meters (16 feet) long. He stumbled. He got up, walked a few more steps and fell again. Barra is spending the first months of his life with his mother in Ansar prison, where she is serving a seven-year sentence for unlawful sexual intercourse, that is, prostitution.
Barra’s mother told Al-Monitor, “I have served nine months of my sentence, and I hope that my appeal will succeed, and I will serve only one-third of the sentence.” She said that the prison does not provide proper food or clothing for her son and that she has to buy everything from the prison’s grocery store. “My son is only eating bread dipped in tea because there is no baby food,” she stated.
