Reports of widespread rapes of incarcerated women in government prisons are filtering out of Asmara. One jail where credible information has surfaced is the wenjel mermera prison in Asmara. This prison, as distinct from its counterpart in the same complex of kalaai medeber, is reserved for political prisoners and other prisoners of conscience.

According to our sources, senior jailers routinely called female prisoners to their offices during the night and assaulted them. These incidents led to complaints among women and other prisoners. To avert a scandal, the prison authorities have taken some measures that included isolating the women�s chambers.

Several years ago, there were similar reports of female combatants in Sawa.  The government reversed its policy of compulsory �national service� and demobilized most of the women.