Women in Prison

The United States’ system of mass incarceration has imprisoned millions since the 1980s, with enormous racial disparities. During this period, women have become the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population.

For Many Incarcerated Women, the State Is Their Abuser

PUBLISHED 2/10/2026 by

Let me tell you what it’s like to live in state-sanctioned, gender-based violence. 

In prison, we wake up when male guards tell us to. We wear what they tell us to wear. We eat what they give us, when they decide to give it. We go where they permit, speak when they allow, and exist under their constant surveillance. Our bodies belong to the state. Our movements are controlled. Our communications are monitored. They have the power to deny or delay our medical care, and our complaints go ignored or punished.

Incarcerated journalist Kwaneta Harris explains that when we tolerate sexual assault in women’s prisons, we signal that the state can commit violence against people without consequences.

What Iran’s Crackdown Looks Like From Inside: A Q&A With Nasrin Sotoudeh and Reza Khandan

PUBLISHED 2/10/2026 by

As mass protests and a deadly crackdown grip Iran, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh speaks from Tehran while her husband, activist Reza Khandan, calls in from Evin Prison—offering a rare, firsthand account of repression, resistance and the stakes for democracy inside the country.

“My message has always been to use all non-violent means to persuade governments to uphold democracy and human rights. Small actions can have big impacts.”

“… You can’t bomb a country into democracy.”

Menopause in Prison Is a Public Health Crisis We’re Ignoring

PUBLISHED 2/10/2026 by

Speaking from a Texas prison, journalist Kwaneta Harris reveals how menopause is neglected and punished for those living under state control.

“You know what menopause looks like for most folks? Maybe some hot flashes at work, some joint pain and mood swings. Perhaps you adjust your thermostat frequently or get hormone therapy from your doctor.

“Now let me tell you what menopause looks like under state control. Imagine having a hot flash in a non air-conditioned cell with a recorded temperature of 119 degrees. The guards won’t let you have ice water. You’re bleeding through your state-issued white uniform because you had to beg an 18-year-old man-child for a pad this morning, and he said, ‘Maybe later.’ You get exactly five tampons a month, along with a handful of pads, if you’re lucky. Your hormones are all over the place, but there’s no hormone replacement therapy. Just Tylenol—if the guards remember.

“And here’s the kicker: They write you up for having an ‘attitude problem’ when you’re actually having hormone-induced mood swings from perimenopause. Those write-ups? They keep you from getting parole. So now you’re not just dealing with your biology changing, you’re trapped here longer because your biology is being criminalized.”

(This essay is part of the latest Women & Democracy installment, published in the middle of Black History Month, in partnership with Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause. Menopause is not only a physical transition—it is also cultural, social and political. Recognizing its full scope is essential to advancing true health and civic equity.)

Iranti Ẹ̀jẹ̀ and Menopausal Mapping: How Womanist Cartographies Make People Into Place

PUBLISHED 2/10/2026 by

A Black feminist menopause convening in Durham reimagines “place” as something created by bodies and community—mapping care, memory and power across physical, digital and spiritual terrains often erased from mainstream menopause discourse.

(This essay is part of the latest Women & Democracy installment, published in the middle of Black History Month, in partnership with Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause. Menopause is not only a physical transition—it is also cultural, social and political. Recognizing its full scope is essential to advancing true health and civic equity.)

Massachusetts Could Be the Next State to Give Abuse Survivors a Pathway Out of Prison

PUBLISHED 1/30/2026 by | UPDATED 2/2/2026 at 1:28 P.M. PT

In June, Karen Edwards testified via video from MCI Framingham, Massachusetts’ only women’s prison, where she is serving a sentence of 15 years to life for the death of her abusive husband. Speaking through tears, Edwards described years of isolation, surveillance and threats—how her husband controlled her movements, cut her off from loved ones and warned that if she left, he would kill her and her children. She urged legislators to pass the Massachusetts Survivors Act, a bill that would allow judges to reduce sentences or offer alternatives to incarceration when a person’s conviction is directly tied to their experience of abuse.

The proposed legislation mirrors resentencing reforms adopted in a handful of other states and could dramatically change Edwards’ future, potentially reducing her life sentence to a term she has already served. Advocates say the bill would offer a long-overdue pathway home for survivors whose actions were shaped by violence, coercion and survival.

As lawmakers consider the measure during the current legislative session, formerly incarcerated survivors and those still behind bars are watching closely—some, for the first time, allowing themselves to imagine a future beyond prison walls.

For Women Spending the Holidays in Prison or a Shelter, You Can Make a Difference

PUBLISHED 12/8/2025 by

Women and girls are the fastest growing incarcerated population in the United States today. The women now in prison are often there because of circumstances that might have put you or me there, too. 

We at Ms. magazine want women in prison to know they are seen and valued. And because domestic violence shelters can be almost as isolating as prisons—and often lack reading material, just as many prisons do—we want to support women in those shelters, too. 

For a tax-deductible donation of just $30, you can help send Ms. to a woman in prison or a domestic violence shelter for a year. And for just $10 more ($40 total), you can get a year’s worth of Ms. for yourself as well.

Supreme Court Soon to Hear a Religious Freedom Case That’s United Both Sides of the Church-State Divide

PUBLISHED 11/7/2025 by

A case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 stands apart from most of the high-profile cases we’ve seen lately. Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections asks whether an inmate who’s part of a minority religious group—the Rastafarians—can sue for monetary damages after a warden violated his religious rights by forcing him to cut his hair.

With nearly 2 million people currently held in prisons, jails and other detention facilities, the inability to seek damages under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act means there’s little accountability when those rights are violated.

Landor’s case also highlights something fundamental: Minority religions are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as major faiths. How the Supreme Court rules will speak volumes about the future of religious freedom—and how it applies to issues the Constitution’s authors could never have imagined.

Trump and RFK’s Pseudoscience Is Another Tool to Control Women

PUBLISHED 10/2/2025 by

We have reached the point in American politics at which a sitting U.S. president sees fit to decree pregnant women must “tough it out.”

We all would be wise to strenuously push back on junk science—not just for our safety here and now, but in service of a future that doesn’t create new inroads for punishment of pregnancy.

Five Ways We Can Support Women in Recovery Without Punishing Them

PUBLISHED 9/29/2025 by

Recovery is not just a personal journey—it is a struggle shaped by policies that too often punish women rather than support them. From losing custody of their children to facing barriers in treatment and the criminal legal system, women with substance use disorder encounter hurdles that men rarely experience. Trauma, stigma and inadequate access to care create a landscape where seeking help can feel like choosing between survival and motherhood.

My sister’s story—years of overdose, illness and family separation—mirrors countless others who live at the intersection of addiction, gender and policy neglect.

The solutions are clear but rarely implemented. Women need access to care that recognizes their lived realities, programs that allow them to keep their families together, and protections that prevent survival strategies from being criminalized. Trauma-informed, women-specific treatment, expanded childcare, extended postpartum coverage, and decriminalization of behaviors tied to survival are not optional—they are essential. Until our systems prioritize dignity, equity and healing, the numbers will keep rising and the stories will keep repeating. Recovery must be recognized as a right, not a risk.

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The road to recovery—and the right to recovery—is essential to a free and fair democracy. This essay is part of a new multimedia collection exploring the intersections of addiction, recovery and gender justice. The Right to Recovery Is Essential to Democracy is a collaboration between Ms. and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health at Georgetown Law, in honor of National Recovery Month.