Nearly 2,500 of the prison population in Turkey are women, many of whom serve their prison terms with their children due to financial difficulties. According to the Ministry of Justice data, as of November 2010 there were 479 children in such situations. The children are not allowed to stay in prison after they reach the age of 6. Experts say these children do not want to leave the prison after that age and that this causes them to commit crimes to be sent back.

The daily reported on a recent documentary titled “Prison Garden,” which covers the stories of children who stay in prison with their mothers. The documentary examined such cases at the Denizli Bozkurt Women´s Prison, the Ankara Sincan Women´s Prison and the İstanbul Üsküdar Paşa Kapısı Women´s Prison. In the documentary, convicted mothers, prison wardens, guards, psychologists and sociologists were asked what can be done for these children. Speaking to the daily, the director of the documentary, Funda Tan Arman, said they managed to create a documentary that stays away from agitation and proposes solutions. She said they watched the finished documentary for the first time with convicts at the women´s penal facility in Denizli.

Some prisons have kindergartens for children between the ages of 3 and 6 where they can play with other children. However, those below the age of 3 have to spend the day in the prison cell with their mothers. Many of the prisons do not allow toys in the cells.

Experts quoted in the documentary say it is impossible to separate these children from their mothers, so conditions for these children should be improved. They say these children should live not like convicts but like their peers.