Women lack basics in crisis-hit Lebanon's crowded prisons

Lebanese authorities have long struggled to care for the more than 8,000 people stuck in the country's jails. But three years of an unprecedented economic crisis mean even basics like medicines are lacking, while cash-strapped families struggle to support their jailed relatives.

Essentials like baby formula have become luxuries for many Lebanese, as the financial collapse - dubbed by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent world history — has pushed most of the population into poverty.

Baabda women's prison director ISF Captain Nancy Ibrahim gives an interview at her office. AFP

Nour is raising her four-month-old daughter in Lebanon's most overpopulated women's prison, struggling to get formula and nappies for her baby as the country's economy lies in tatters. "I don't have enough milk to breastfeed, and baby formula isn't readily available," said the 25-year-old, who was detained eight months ago on drug-related accusations.

"Sometimes my daughter doesn't have formula for three days," she added, as green-eyed Amar wriggled on her lap. A months-long judges' strike has exacerbated the situation in prisons, contributing to overcrowding. Nour said she and her daughter shared a cell at the Baabda women's prison with another 23 people, including two other babies.

Nour sits with the child during an interview at the facility. AFP

She said she sometimes kept Amar in the same nappy overnight while waiting for her parents to bring fresh supplies, but said even they can "barely help with one per cent of my baby's needs."

In a hushed voice, she said the shower water gave her and her daughter rashes, but that Amar had never been examined by a prison doctor. "We all make mistakes, but the punishment we get here is double," Nour said.

Inmates at the prison, located outside the capital Beirut, spoke to AFP in the presence of the prison director and declined to provide their surnames.

Rana Younes, a 25-year-old social worker at the Dar Al Amal NGO, gives an interview with AFP at Baabda women's prison. AFP

Around them, in the facility's breakroom, paint peeled off the walls and water dripped from the ceiling. Rampant inflation and higher fuel prices have also prevented families from visiting their jailed relatives regularly.

Bushra, another inmate, said she had not seen her teenage daughter for nine months because her family could not afford transportation.

She was detained earlier this year on slander allegations and has been in jail ever since. "I miss my daughter," said the tattooed 28-year-old, as her eyes welled up with tears. "So many mothers here cannot even see their children," she added.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said in September that Lebanon's economic crisis had "multiplied the suffering of inmates."

His ministry has appealed for more international support for the prison system, citing overcrowding, poor maintenance and shortages of food and medications.