Sister Mariola

Sister Mariola

Sister Mariola is the only connect that inmates of Ajmer Jail have with the outside world. They wait patiently for her to visit them, because she is the only friend, guide and messenger that they have.Sister Mariola came to Ajmer in 1979 as a teacher at a local institute. While teaching, she noticed the Ajmer’s Women Cell right across the road. Women prisoners in this cell were often from poor families, unaware of their rights and unfamiliar with legal processes involved in a trial. Further, these women had limited social interaction, and an idle mind led to unrest within the women inmates.Sister Mariola decided to spend her free time with the women inmates. She continuously kept thinking how to help improve their lives in the best possible way. Her first challenge was to channelize the energy of these women and use their time & skills in a productive manner. For this, she involved them in activities like making paper bags with newspapers. The income thus generated was used to buy small luxuries of life like cosmetics and snacks for them. In addition, she helped in arranging legal aid for these women and put their cases on fast trial. She got the authorities to take notice of cases where the inmates had already served their term but were still not released. While doing this work, she came across a mentally ill prisoner suffering her term since the last 18 years. She fought a long and tough battle for the rights of this woman and finally managed to get her released after 6 years of struggle. Sister Mariiola is a window of hope for these women, through which they see the sunrise of a brighter future ahead.
Sister Mariola works relentlessly for the women prisoners in Ajmer jail. An active member of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, she took the task of providing a better livelihood to women in the jail. In appreciation of her work, Rajasthan government recently nominated her as a member of State’s Minority Community. She indeed is the real hero for women in Ajmer Jail.
Quote- “It helps when you help others because anyone can make a difference.”