A Hong Kong activist detained under the national security law has taken prison authorities to court for alleged sex discrimination over a “plainly arbitrary” rule that female inmates must wear long trousers during daytime throughout the year.
Chow Hang-tung’s legal team said she had been subject to less favourable treatment compared with her male counterparts under the Correctional Services Department policy, which was reportedly implemented in consideration of the variation in age and health conditions among women inmates.
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The written application for judicial review, seen by the Post on Monday, also argued the rule served no useful purpose in the enforcement of custodial discipline and lacked regard for the recent extreme weather linked to global warming.
Chow, 39, is the second person to challenge the rule imposed exclusively on women prisoners after a similar bid, filed in August 2021, was dropped despite the High Court’s permission for the applicant to commence proceedings.
The barrister turned activist is currently remanded in the Tai Lam Centre for Women to await trial on a charge of inciting subversion over her role as former vice-chairwoman of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the group behind the annual Tiananmen Square vigil.
The writ said that under prison rules, female inmates must wear long trousers during daytime all year round no matter the weather, whereas their male counterparts could wear shorts in the summer.