The Republican Party’s War on Women: Power, Control, and the Systematic Dismantling of Rights

There has always been a war on women. It has taken different forms throughout history, rebranded under the guise of morality, tradition, and "family values." But in recent years, the American Republican Party has stopped pretending. They no longer even bother to conceal their objectives beneath polite euphemisms. Their war on women is open, unapologetic, and escalating at a pace that should terrify every single person who values freedom, equality, and the basic right to autonomy.

This is not about protecting children. It is not about faith, nor is it about family. It is about control. Because when you control women—when you control their bodies, their futures, their ability to participate fully in society—you control the entire system. And if history has taught us anything, it is that those who crave power will do anything to keep it.

The Republican Party’s War on Women is Strategic, Not Ideological

It is tempting to think that the GOP’s attacks on women’s rights stem from deep-seated conservative values, from some archaic belief that women should be subservient to men, barefoot in the kitchen and birthing babies like some dystopian fever dream of The Handmaid’s Tale. And while misogyny is undoubtedly baked into their policies, their war on women is not just about outdated ideology—it is about strategy.

When women have rights—when they are educated, independent, and free to make decisions about their own bodies—they become powerful. They challenge the status quo. They vote differently. They disrupt the system that benefits the men who have always been in charge.

The Republican Party’s entire political survival depends on maintaining control over a population that, by sheer numbers, should never allow them to remain in power. Women outvote men in nearly every election. The younger generations—millennials and Gen Z—lean overwhelmingly progressive. In a truly democratic system, where rights are protected and participation is encouraged, the GOP would be unelectable.

So what do they do? They suppress votes. They strip away rights. They create a culture of fear. They make it harder for women to exist as free and equal citizens because the less power women have, the more power men like them retain.

This is why abortion bans, birth control restrictions, and attacks on women’s autonomy are at the forefront of their political agenda. The goal is not just to strip away reproductive rights—it is to trap women in cycles of dependence, to keep them too financially and emotionally exhausted to fight back.

Forced Birth: The GOP’s Most Powerful Tool of Control

The Republican Party does not want to reduce abortions. If they did, they would support comprehensive sex education, free access to contraception, and robust social programs that support mothers and children. But they don’t. Instead, they fight against every single policy that has been proven to lower abortion rates.

Why? Because banning abortion is not about “saving babies.” It is about controlling women.

When women are forced to give birth against their will, they are more likely to:

• Remain in poverty

• Stay in abusive relationships

• Drop out of school

• Be financially dependent on men

This is intentional. Women who cannot plan their families, who are forced into motherhood before they are ready, who are denied economic and educational opportunities—these are women who cannot fully participate in the workforce, who cannot challenge the men in power, who cannot shape the political landscape in ways that threaten Republican dominance.

And let’s be clear: Republicans do not care about babies. If they did, they would be fighting for paid parental leave, affordable childcare, universal healthcare, and access to quality education. But they don’t. They fight against all of these things. Because their concern is not life—it is obedience.

Why the War on Women is Detrimental to America (and the World)

It is not just women who suffer under these policies—it is America itself. Every time a country strips away the rights of half its population, it weakens itself economically, socially, and politically. The countries with the strongest economies, the highest levels of education, and the happiest populations all have one thing in common: they invest in gender equality.

Denying women autonomy and opportunities cripples a nation’s potential. When you force women out of the workforce, when you deny them education, when you make it harder for them to contribute to society, you are actively sabotaging economic growth. Studies have shown that gender equality is one of the strongest predictors of a country’s prosperity. When women thrive, entire economies thrive.

But beyond that, this war on women is not contained within U.S. borders. The world watches America. The policies it pushes have ripple effects across the globe. When the United States—once seen as a leader in human rights—begins rolling back protections for women, it emboldens authoritarian regimes. It sends a message that women’s rights are negotiable, disposable, optional. And that is a message that endangers women everywhere.

What They Have To Gain

Why are Republicans willing to sacrifice the country’s economic stability and global standing for this? Because power is their only currency. They have seen the future, and it does not favour them. They know that in a truly free, democratic, and progressive society, they lose.

And so, they burn everything down in the hopes that they can keep their grip on power for just a little longer.

They rig elections. They gerrymander districts. They pack the courts with ideological extremists. And when all else fails, they wage war on the people most likely to stand against them—women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants.

The war on women is just one front in their broader attack on democracy itself.

The Only Way Forward is to Fight

The Republican Party has made one thing clear: they are not going to stop. They will continue to erode women’s rights for as long as they are allowed to. The only thing that stops them is us.

Women fought for the right to vote. They fought for reproductive rights. They fought for access to education, for equal pay, for the ability to exist in this world as full and equal citizens. And every single right women have ever gained has been met with vicious backlash from the men who stood to lose control.

But history is on our side.

Every attempt to strip women of their rights has been met with resistance. And resistance works. We have overturned laws before. We have won back our rights before. And we will do it again.

But it will not happen by waiting. It will not happen by hoping. It will happen by showing up. By voting. By refusing to be silent.

Republicans are terrified of a world where women are free.

And that? That is exactly the world we should be fighting for.