Sweden is closing its prisons. What about a prisonless world?

sweden prison-uddevalla

Swedish prison uddevalla.

Swedish Prisons are for rehabilitation, not for punishment. Sweden is now closing its prisons, due to lack of prisoners.

The Swedish prison population has dropped by nearly a sixth since it peaked at 5,722 in 2004. In 2012, there were 4,852 people in prison in Sweden, out of a population of 9.5 million. The US has a prison population of 2,239,751, equivalent to 716 people per 100,000. China ranks second with 1,640,000 people behind bars, or 121 people per 100,000, while Russia’s inmates are 681,600, amounting to 475 individuals per 100,000. Brazilian prisons hold 548,003 citizens, 274 people per 100,000; finally, India’s prison population amounts to 385,135, with a per capita rate of just 30 inmates per 100,000 citizens.

sweden jail1

Swedish prison Sollentuna.

sweden jail 4

Swedish prison cell.

Kumla prison in Sweden

Swedish prison cell.

Sweden doesn’t have the Death Penalty, neither it has any real punishment or real prison for criminals. But Sweden has less crimes than other countries. It is because Swedish society is an equal society, there is no big gap between rich and poor, obviously Sweden is a good welfare state and needless to say that there is more equality between men and women in Sweden than most countries in the world. Sweden has been experiencing less violent crimes than before. Theft and drugs offenses still exist though.

We have learned from Sweden that if we can create equality in society, the crime rates will go down. If we can create equality in the world, there will be no crime, and there will be no prison. I am dreaming of that crimeless prisonless beautiful world.

Women Bishops!

Everybody thought the Church of England general synod was going to vote for women bishops. But they voted against it. I am not surprised. Don’t we already know that religionists are against women’s equality?

But anyway, what is so revolutionary about women bishops!

The truth is I am not very excited about women becoming priests or bishops, imams or monks. I do not think women should believe in anti-women religions.

I have recently learned about ordination of women. [Read more…]

No more celebration of misogyny !

India is celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights. But Indian feminist author Rita Banerji is not celebrating it, because she does not like the Diwali story. She thinks the gods and the traditions people celebrate in India, contain the seeds of violence against women and girls. She says: [Read more…]

Fatwas continue

I was born and brought up in Bangladesh. The Muslim fundamentalists issued fatwa against me and set price on my head. The government filed a case against me on the charges of blasphemy. I was forced to leave my country 19 years ago. Since then I have not been allowed to return to my country. I am considered the biggest enemy of the Muslim fundamentalists. All Islam loving people are supposed to live peacefully forever if only I leave the country. A hell of a lot of compromises have been done with fundamentalists. How come they still continue issuing fatwas? Bangladesh’s newspaper wrote:

Offences in the name of fatwa continue in the country despite their being declared illegal by the courts is unacceptable. However, the continued proactive role of the High Court on the issue is encouraging. [Read more…]

That Grandmothers Were Crucial for Human Evolution!

Grandmothering was the initial step toward making us who we are.

For years, anthropologists and evolutionary biologists have struggled to explain the existence of menopause, a life stage that humans do not share with our primate relatives. Why would it be beneficial for females to stop being able to have children with decades still left to live? [Read more…]

Colourful festival of polytheism in India

India is celebrating Navratri or Durga puja, one of the biggest Hindu religious festivals. The festival is dedicated to the goddess Durga. She is depicted with multiple arms , carrying various weapons and riding a ferocious lion or tiger. She is often pictured as battling or slaying Mahishasura, the demon. [Read more…]