Obama promised that insurance companies, not religious institutions, would have to pay for contraception for female employees at religious institutions; Catholic officials, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, objected on religious grounds. They countered with the Blunt Amendment, created to counter the birth control mandate in the Affordable Healthcare Act, which would allow anyone to refuse to administer any form of treatment based on religious objection. At the opening panel of the House hearing on the mandate, the original witnesses were all grown men who opposed birth control measures; after objections, Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee added a woman, Calvin College medical director Dr. Laura Champion, who is also adamantly pro-life. Supposedly, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) allowed the Democrats on the committee to choose one woman witness to testify, but he objected to their choice on the grounds that she did not have proper credentials and would testify about too narrow an application of the legislation.

Birth control is not the only aspect of women’s health under fire. In Virginia, SB 484, passed by the State House and Senate, would require any woman undergoing an abortion to submit to a trans-vaginal ultrasound without the opportunity to consent or object, in direct challenge to the accepted legal definition of rape in Virginia; the probe is shaped like a dildo and penetrates a woman in the same way a penis would. In New Hampshire, HB1581 and HB1608 would make it harder for police to pursue domestic abusers and prosecute them, requiring them to produce warrants to make arrests and requiring an abuser to violate a protective order three times before an arrest. Nationally, Republicans are threatening to block renewal of the Violence Against Women Act because they object to specific protections for Native Americans and LGBT people. These recent developments demonstrate a concerted effort to impinge upon the rights of women, and the charge is being led by older white males in positions of authority.

The underlying trend is innately disturbing: these older white males want to make the decisions when it comes to women’s health and women’s ability to choose, and they don’t want women to be a part of the decision-making process. Gender inequality has been in place for millennia, and the male quest to dominate women is nothing new. However, we are supposedly tackling issues of inequality and amending our laws to reflect gross inadequacies. Is it right that women are still often paid only three-fourths of what men earn with equal seniority for equal responsibilities, that employers can still fire or reduce the salary of women who get pregnant, and that Congress chronically fails to pass the Fair Pay Act in any of its forms?

This is not fifth century Athens, or nineteenth century Britain; when it comes to birth control and family planning, we should make sure that people regardless of gender have the right to choose how and when to form their own families. The number of single mothers is steadily increasing, and according to census data and studies, many of these women are choosing to have children on their own. The population is not about to die out any time soon thanks to birth control, if birth rates are anything to judge by, and no one seems to be symbolically threatening the patriarchal system when they choose to take Plan B or file a domestic violence complaint. So why are these men challenging the right of women to choose what happens to their bodies?

Young men who believe in gender equality, women’s choice, and ending domestic violence need to speak out and take action. The University is one of the communities in which male feminists can be even more vocal and insistent than their female counterparts. It is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of gender, to advocate on behalf of equal rights and against violence. Nationally, that means calling officials, signing petitions, attending rallies and marches, and writing editorials like this one; locally, that means supporting our sexual violence prevention staff and volunteers, advocating for more resources to go toward pregnancy prevention and sexual assault response initiatives, and above all, making sure that women do not shoulder most of the burden for advocating on behalf of themselves. And yes, that means ensuring that anyone with female anatomy has access to birth control and women’s health resources; we are all witnesses to the fight for equality.