Alicia Keys is joining the movement that stands up for women who are incarcerated. The celebrity mom recently shared a promo video for the DIGNITY act, in which she compared her parenting experience with women behind bars, with Instagram fans.
“I’ve given birth to two humans. Every year, over 2,000 women give birth to children while in prison,” the singer says in the clip. Keys is joined by other women who present the horrendous conditions that expectant women are subjected to when giving birth and trying to be mothers from prison. “What if I had to give birth while shackled and chained,” Alicia asks before advocating for the DIGNITY act.
I cosponsored the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act with @CoryBooker, @elizabethforma & @DickDurbin.https://t.co/FB8xdBFtcY
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 12, 2017
Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren introduced the DIGNITY act as a way of protecting the humanity of incarcerated women. Stipulations in the proposed law include things such as giving mothers the right to make phone calls to their children without having to forgo feminine necessities like tampons or sanitary pads. The act also advocates for moms-to-be to endure the birthing process without being shackled to a bed; something that should be common sense.
According to the DIGNITY Act’s website,
“The United States holds 30% of the world’s incarcerated women. We shackle them while giving birth. We often place them hundreds of miles away from their children – further inhibiting the healthy development of their children. And we force them to make draconian choices, like whether to use commissary funds to call home, or purchase sanitary pads.
We prey upon those who have been traumatized, and instead of releasing them back into society rehabilitated, we re-traumatize them.”
Learn more about this vital act and movement here. Check out Alicia Keys’ powerful promo for the campaign below!
