A Song for Women in Prison, Shackled in Childbirth
By Grace Aneiza Ali
Beginnings — how we enter the world, how we begin our lives — are profound to the arc of our journeys. Imagine, then, a daughter who learns that her mother brought her into the world while chained and cuffed. Imagine a son who learns that the story of his birth begins with his mother in shackles. Imagine the doctors and prison guards who participate in and bear witness to this moment. Imagine the mother who has to bring her child into the world this way.
The statistics are sobering — 2.3 million people in the American prison system and women are the fastest growing population. How many of us pause to think about the conditions for women in prison who have to give birth?
Singer/songwriter Morley Shanti Kamen (Morley), whose artistic practice is deeply steeped in using music to raise awareness for global women’s rights and human rights issues, says that the experiences of women who give birth while imprisoned, particularly the practice of shackling, remain largely under-the-radar.
“When I read about something like this or witness something like this, what I think about is what is the next move, what is the action,” says Morley.
In response to learning about the ongoing practice of shackling women in labor, the singer/songwriter penned the song “Unshackled.” In her lyrics, she conjures up an image of a woman living in slavery or in a war zone. Unfortunately, the “chains” Morley references are no metaphor.
in jail when her water broke
in labor in chainsher waist was shackled
hands were cuffed
armed officer in the room
As of 2015, 21 states have enacted laws making it illegal to shackle pregnant women during and after labor. And yet, in many of these states the practice continues. Even more alarming, are the majority of states where shackling and restraining women during and after labor remains within the purview of the law.
