Women prisoners live in a zone of theoretical anarchy. Patriarchal societies have consistently treated women's crime and women prisoners with neglect and ruthlessness. Research on women's crime and imprisonment has therefore, kept pace with such biases of popular patriarchal imageries.

Framing a methodological position for the study involves the following:

1. a. Selecting methodological tools for research

2. b. Identifying issues and assumptions for the study

3. c. Positioning oneself as a researcher vis-à-vis the subject.

During the research vis-à-vis the prison, women prisoners, and their stories involved traversing a long and layered distance. This process was also achieved as a recoil to the assumptions of mainstream criminology. To put it more dramatically, the research was conceived as an attempt at breaching the many walls of popular bias, academic neglect, and theoretical distortion. The researcher's entry into the prison constituted a breach of walls of bias and letting go of inhibitions. It also required a strong understanding of female sensitivities. In the process of understanding the stories of women prisoners and converting them into objective data for research conclusions, these sensitivities proved to be helpful in preserving the subjectivity of each story.

Research Design

This is a case study that utilises multiple sources of data. The study addresses questions of the nature of ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ The focus of this study is on the lives of women in Indian prisons. The Chanchalguda State Prison for Women was the site chosen for this research, mainly for two reasons:

1. a. There are two State Prisons for women in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the Chanchlaguda Prison is one of them.