“My body is weak because of illnesses I caught in prison. After intensive investigations of samples of my blood, urine, stool and sputum, my doctors confirmed that my blood pressure is high, and I have both malaria and a nasty urinary tract infection (UTI). I am now taking a huge cocktail of powerful medicines to heal my body and restore my strength.
I was horrified and ashamed to learn these test results. Malaria horrified me. The UTI shamed me. My doctors explained that the hygiene conditions in prison bathrooms and toilets are breeding places for such infections. Moreover, women’s bodies are more prone to catching urinary tract infections than men’s bodies.
What does it mean for a state to grab a person with a healthy body, dump and lock that person up in a space infested with infections, illnesses and diseases? Why must remanded suspects be dumped in prison wards festering with virii, bacteria, and other germs? Is the incaceration of women a facade for infecting them with diseases that wreck harvoc on their bodies? When a ‘suspect’ is remanded and kept in prison for safe custody, is infection with deadly illnesses part of the bargain? What are the meanings of incaceration for remands in this fucked up country?”
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