Women are more sensitive than men. They are prisoners, and also women. Therefore, they need more care on their psychology.

　　Yin Qiaolian, a woman pris-oner involved in drug peddling, has spent one year's prison life in Wuhan, Hubei Province. At the beginning, she is an activist in prison and her abnormal mood was noticed. After a deep investigation the police learned about Yin Qiaolian's family. She was divorced in 1992 and the only boy was awarded her husband. Now, her 14-year old son, had dropped out from school and was idling in the street all day, with no one taking care of him since his parents both were in prison.

　　On learning Yin Qiaolian's condition, the police makes a special decision to take up all possible measures to help Yin Qiaolian. Only one day later, Bingbing, Yin Qiaolian's son was found and got good treatment. About 1,000 yuan was donated to the boy. From then on.

　　At present, the living guarantee, residence and schooling of her son have been arranged properly.

　　China's women prisoners are learning to get in touch with their femininity as part of their rehabilitation.

　　"They are prisoners, but women too," says Huang Qinghua, a warden in a women's jail on the southern outskirts of Beijing.

　　With more than a dozen years experience, Huang knows that prisoners can lose their freedom, but not their female nature.

　　"They are sensitive, but in many cases their worries and tensions can be appeased by an understanding heart and small comforts," says the warden.

　　The prison's "soft" appearance includes a flower garden, a green area and a fountain pool in front of the complex.

　　"I had imagined a prison life to be shackled in a stinking cell," says Xu Ying (an alias), who was sentenced to 15 years for selling drugs three years ago.

　　That misconception was changed when she entered the prison, but she was still overcome by depression at the loss of her freedom.

　　However, the photo of her mother consoles her every morning as she gets up and waters two evergreen potted plants at the start ofeach day.

　　"The prison allows us to choose a photo of our family and put it in a picture frame," says the inmate in her 20s.

　　The dormitory walls are painted blue and the windows and doors are all decorated with red paper-cuttings, which remind prisoners of Spring Festival in Chinese tradition. Plastic firecrackers hanging from the corridor walls add a more lively air.

　　"Beautiful things awaken a prisoner's sense of responsibility and a more caring attitude," says Huang.

　　The crime rate for women is much lower than that of men. Less than 5 per cent of prisoners in China are women, living in 20 jails across the country.

　　Huang says that women are more likely to feel pressure with regard to human relationships than men, and more concerned with personal hygiene. Separate administration of women and men prisoners is key to alleviating women's psychological pressure.

　　According to Chinese law, women prisoners can be released on parole during pregnancy and lactation. Women's prisons in China are all staffed with gynecologists to provide medical care.

　　Despite personal differences, what most prisoners need most is to release emotional tension. To address this need, nearly every prison across China has designated a "Catharsis Day" to help prisoners relieve tension and anxiety.

　　In this women's prison, Catharsis Day falls every Thursday. On this day, prisoners are allowed to engage in disco dance, sing Karaoke, play table tennis and enjoy other forms of entertainment.

　　Xu Ying's favorite relaxation technique is listening to the ballet music of Swan Lake. "It is the most comforting pleasure in boring prison life."

　　Model prisoners like Xu are rewarded with more opportunities for leisurely family reunions. Xu has been allowed to have one dinner per month in prison with her family.

　　This type of psychological rehabilitation usually yields good results. Luo Dahua, a criminal psychologist with the China University of politics and Law, says that this type of emotional rehabilitation has become an effective psychological treatment for prisoners in China following experimentation with labor, ideological and educational rehabilitation.

　　Most prisons in China have set up psychological record archives and opened psychological clinics for both women and men,swheresprisoners can seek psychological help. The Beijing prison system is lobbying for legislation that would require that all psychological counselors working in prisons to have professional licenses.