Ramadhan Behind the Bars

It was 17:48 hrs. Time to breakfasting for all the moeslims. Inmates had gathered neatly with their praying suits sitting in a line, passing the foods to their friends. Several of them, are already busy of sipping their tea and eat some simple snacks.

They all gathered to had iftar together, followed by praying in congregation in one corner connected directly with the guard duty block which is only limited to a row of sturdy bars, they fill the space of approximately 3x2 meters, even until some saf filled the hallway behind them.

The amount is not much, it’s much less than the usual at Ramadhan day. Because it was a special day for some of them. That afternoon, Some of them had the opportunity to get a visit to meet and gather with their family at iftar time together in the court of prisons. tears and hugs longing to color the meeting they longed for in this month of Ramadan to gather with relatives with a specified time limit.

Women Prisons IIA Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta is currently home to 396 people assisted by different types of cases ranging from theft, corruption to murder. Based on the description of the mosque companion in the environment of the prison, 295 of them are Moeslims, and there is always some of them using the timing of the holy month of Ramadan to say two sentences of shahadah, embracing Islam.

A series of spiritual activities is already a routine outside of Ramadan. However, the splendor of the holy month of Ramadan is felt even from this limited environment. Various spiritual activities enliven the days of the citizens. Like Tarawih Prayer in congregation, finishing the Qur’an, and a series of contests such Hafidz Quran , Arabic writing contest, Ilami Dakawah Competition, Ayat Dial, Memorized the Hasmaul Husnah and others, intended to invite them to use this full moon barokah to fill it with good things. "With them getting used to the good things, it's easy to stick to their hearts and get carried away for their lives," said East Java Class IIA Head Ika Yusanti.