Jail’s rehabilitation art and music programme had some inmates sell their work for thousands of dollars
Murals of rural Pakistani life adorn the port city’s colonial-era prison. These murals and artworks scattered across the Central Jail in Karachi are painted by convicted criminals including murderers and kidnappers who remain locked inside the prison’s vast premises.
But what’s interesting about the lives of these prisoners is the fact that they are not left idle inside the jail, but are equipping themselves with unique skills including arts and crafts.
Through the jail’s rehabilitation art and music programme, inmates have gotten the chance to learn the craft and sell their work for thousands of dollars in exhibitions with support from the local arts council, the prison chief told AFP.
“Before I was jailed, it was another life with no responsibility and immaturity,” Mohammad Ijaz said, speaking with AFP from the prison studio.
Murals of rural Pakistani life adorn the port city’s colonial-era prison. These murals and artworks scattered across the Central Jail in Karachi are painted by convicted criminals including murderers and kidnappers who remain locked inside the prison’s vast premises.
But what’s interesting about the lives of these prisoners is the fact that they are not left idle inside the jail, but are equipping themselves with unique skills including arts and crafts.
Through the jail’s rehabilitation art and music programme, inmates have gotten the chance to learn the craft and sell their work for thousands of dollars in exhibitions with support from the local arts council, the prison chief told AFP.
“Before I was jailed, it was another life with no responsibility and immaturity,” Mohammad Ijaz said, speaking with AFP from the prison studio.
“But I have found the true meaning of life since being jailed. They have taught us that life is full of colours and the colours themselves speak.”
Ijaz, who declines to give details about his conviction under a penal code covering kidnapping and abduction, says he is about halfway through a 25-year sentence.
Despite being locked up, he has earned huge sums from his art depicting horses — funding his mother’s pilgrimage to Makkah and his sister’s wedding.
“In the beginning, my family didn’t believe me that I had become an artist,” said the 42-year-old, who now teaches other prisoners. “When they saw us in the exhibition, they were happy.”