Aftenposten reports today that the Norwegian minister of Equality has set up a panel to discuss men's rights. 32 men of varied backgrounds have been gathered, their purpose to raise awareness of men's societal rights and the shortcomings of such rights, and to “spark public discussion”. I say it's about freaking time, and that I hope other nations will soon follow.

Let me pre-empt those that would bring up women's rights already: I am in no way opposed to equal rights between the sexes. Quite the opposite, as we shall see. But I do feel—as does minister Bekkemellem, I'm sure—that there are issues related to the rights of men that have been swept under the rug as international feminism has tromped onward. Surely these issues are also worth discussing, in the name of equal rights for everyone—we can't blind ourselves to contemporary male issues simply because women have historically been worse off, especially as the rights of women have improved significantly over the last few decades.

While often better off economically, men are left high and dry when it comes to marital relationships. Courts regularly discriminate against males when assigning custody of children, being heavily biased in favor of the mother, on uncommon occasions even in cases where the mother is clearly unfit.

On the topic of crime, men are again in a sombre position. We are more likely to fall victim to assault and battery, almost always at the hands of other men. While admittedly rare, a man being abused by his spouse isfar less likely than a woman to find sympathy. There is in fact a rather major social stigma attached to being an abused man, which tends to cause intense feelings of shame and depression among such victims, which in turn may mean the number of abused men is higher than we suspect.

Men are more likely to be found guilty of crimes, especially violent ones such as assault and rape, and when they are found guilty, their punishment is often much more severe than that handed out to women for the same crimes. When it comes to the gruesome crime of rape, the bias is especially evident, to the point where it has almost become taboo for a man to defend himself against such allegations. Almost always, it is irrelevant whether the man did it or not—the mere accusation can be enough to ruin his life just as surely as if he had been the victim. This is especially disturbing in the light of the fact that as many as 40-60% of all rape allegations in the United States are completely made up.

I'm sure no one is saying that women's rights are in any way inconsequential. But equal rights should be just that—equal—and shedding light on male-specific issues is just as important as on female-specific issues. Way to go, Norway—I hope this works out, and that others follow suit.