In the shadowed corners of American prisons, where time stands still and humanity often crumbles, women have endured the cruel practice of solitary confinement for over two centuries. From suffragettes to political activists, from the mentally ill to the wrongfully accused, their stories echo through concrete walls, telling a tale of systemic oppression that persists into our modern era.

In 1872, when the sewing machine was revolutionizing American households, Susan B. Anthony spent three days in solitary confinement for the “crime” of voting. Her isolation, though brief, highlighted how solitary confinement was wielded as a weapon against women who dared to challenge sexual norms. During the same era, journalist Nellie Bly voluntarily committed herself to an asylum, where she witnessed and experienced isolation used as “treatment” for women deemed hysterical or difficult, a gendered diagnosis that would haunt American psychiatry for decades.

The 1970s brought new waves of political prisoners. Angela Davis spent sixteen months in solitary confinement while awaiting trial for charges of which she was later acquitted. As Americans gathered around their television sets to watch “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” celebrate female independence, Davis endured conditions that stripped her of basic human dignity. Her experience paralleled that of countless other women political prisoners who faced harsher punishments than their male counterparts for similar acts of resistance.

The justifications for placing women in solitary have remained remarkably consistent: “protection,” “safety,” and “maintaining order,” euphemisms that mask deeply rooted sexism. Women are often placed in solitary for minor infractions that would rarely result in such severe punishment for men. These include “attitude problems,” having contraband cosmetics, or reporting sexual abuse by guards, a particularly cruel irony that persists today.

Dangerous staffing shortages paint a grim picture, when many women are forced to remain locked in their cells for extended periods without being officially classified as housed in solitary. The practice continues despite overwhelming evidence of its devastating psychological effects, especially on women with histories of trauma, which describes up to 90 percent of incarcerated women. The conditions themselves tell a story of calculated dehumanization. 

In the 1800s, women in solitary faced cells barely large enough to lie down, with minimal ventilation and no sanitary products. Today, while cells may have better ventilation, women inside still are denied basic hygiene supplies, adequate medical care, and even toilet paper. As smartphones connect the outside world instantaneously, women in solitary remain cut off from human contact, their voices muffled by steel doors and bureaucratic indifference. America’s role in this ongoing human rights violation extends beyond its borders. The United States has exported its mass incarceration model, including the practice of solitary confinement, to countries worldwide. 

As the self-proclaimed leader of the free world, America’s continued use of this torture sends a dangerous message: that it’s acceptable to break human spirits in the name of punishment.

The parallels between the past and the present are stark. When Susan B. Anthony was in solitary, women couldn’t vote. Today, many states still deny voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals. When Angela Davis was isolated, the prison system targeted political dissidents. Today, it disproportionately punishes women who resist abuse within its walls. While Nellie Bly exposed the horrors of nineteenth-century asylums, modern prisons have become our largest mental health facilities, with isolation still used as a substitute for treatment. 

The more things change, the more they remain the same but this constancy is not inevitable. It is a choice, made daily by those who maintain these systems and by a society that turns away from the echoes of suffering behind prison walls. Until America confronts its addiction to punishment and its deeply ingrained sexism, women will continue to face the torture of solitary confinement, their stories adding new chapters to an already shameful history. 

For more information on women in solitary confinement, see Solitary Watch’s fact sheet on the subject.