East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia,
and the PacificThe conditions and situations of prisons and
prisoners in the region are dependent upon eco-
nomic growth, the legal system, management or
administration, law enforcement, and the political
situation. In this context, Islamic culture might
have only a little impact. For instance, prison con-
ditions in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia are dif-
ferent, although both are Islamic countries. In fact,
the classic Islamic criminal law is mainly based on
™udùd, such as stoning to death and cutting off of
hands, and not on a prison system. This does not
mean that the prison system is unjustified. Instead,
Islamic criminal law proposes ta≠zìr, which means
that Islamic judges are free to punish the offender
in cases of minor felony equivalents (which are not
found in the Qur±àn) in almost any fashion, includ-
ing sending him/her to prison. Whilst ™udùd crimes
have fixed punishments, as set down by God, and
found in the Qur±àn, and therefore are seen as
crimes against God’s law, ta≠zìrcrimes are crimes
against society (Malekian 1994).
Based on data from 2000, women prisoners con-
stituted 5.1 percent of the total number of all pris-
oners in the Asia and Pacific region (APCCA 2000).
However, there were several countries that had
higher than this average proportion: Thailand
(17.4 percent), Hong Kong (China) (10.4 percent),
Macau (China) (8.7 percent), and Singapore (8.2
percent). By contrast, the proportions were very
low in the Pacific island nations of Fiji (1.4 per-
cent), Tonga (1.5 percent), and Kiribati (1.8 per-
cent). All of the other nations in the region had
proportions of women prisoners between these fig-
ures (APCCA 2000).
One of the possible explanations is that less
highly developed nations have lower proportions
of women offenders. In other words, nations with
a high level of socioeconomic development might
generally have higher proportions of women pris-
oners. Another explanation could be that it is cul-
tural and historical considerations that mark the
difference. For instance, in Cambodia there has
been no apparent marked increase in women pris-
oners, while in Kiribati the number of women pris-
oners is kept very small by the common practice of
courts suspending a sentence if the offender is
Law: Enforcement
female. In Brunei Darussalam, the total number of
women prisoners remained relatively stable be-
tween 2000 and 2004, but in most years the major-
ity of female prisoners are foreigners.
Some countries have experienced extreme in-
creases in the numbers of women prisoners, which
might be seen as a reason for management concern.
In Australia, for example, there have been increases
in all jurisdictions except South Australia, while in
New Zealand the female prison population in-
creased by 162 percent between June 1986 and
June 2000 (APCCA 2000). In Thailand the rate of
increase in the female prison population dramati-
cally exceeded the equivalent rate for male prison-
ers, and this trend is predicted to continue. Even in
Japan, where prison populations generally are very
stable, there has been an increase in the number of
women prisoners of 44 percent between 1998 and- In Malaysia the number of women prisoners
has fluctuated over the past decade, but in 2002–4
the numbers have doubled, while in Singapore,
since 1993, there has been an increase in female
penal offender numbers, but not in numbers of con-
victed female drug addicts (APCCA 2000).
Regardless of these statistical proportions, women
prisoners have special needs, particularly with
regard to health care, substance abuse, and family
responsibilities. In addition, issues relating to preg-
nancy, childbirth, contraception, menstruation,
and lesbian relationships are of more or less greater
relevance in individual cases. In general, arrange-
ments have been made for pregnant women prison-
ers to deliver their babies in public hospitals rather
than in prison. This has ensured that professional
obstetric assistance was available and also avoided
the stigma of having a prison named as the place of
birth on the birth certificate.
There are different approaches, however, as to
whether or not mothers in prison should be
allowed to keep their babies with them and, if so,
for how long. In Japan, mothers are allowed to
keep their babies with them for up to one year,
while in Kiribati the baby may stay only whilst the
mother is lactating. The maximum period in both
Singapore and Hong Kong (China) is three years. In
Singapore, women prisoners who are young mothers
are offered an 8-week parenting course (APCCA
2000).
In New Zealand, facilities are provided for