Page 5 - Motherhood in Prison

Foreword

Having, for most of my life, been involved in work that required
me to see the unseen and speak about things considered best left
alone, I was highly honoured to be invited to write the foreword
to Motherhood in Prison.

This collection of poems and artwork, created by incarcerated
mothers in Zambia, draws back into the light a section of society
whose womanhood, motherhood and sometimes very humanity
is lost to the shadows of facelessness and stigma of having broken
the rules so fundamentally, as to be taken away from society.

We are reminded that, behind the steel gates of prisons, are
individuals, in this case mothers, with a history, career, dreams,
loved ones and life. We hear of their pining for their children, the
remorse at pain caused, the missed life experiences both mundane
and significant. The hope, many times desperate, drawn from
those waiting outside, the desire for redemption and a future is
expressed in a few understated words. Through this collection,
we learn that in our prisons are all of us. Full human beings.
Their voices should be heard, and their experiences be more than
statistical. They have names and lives!

Laura Miti

By: Vanessa
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