In Cosmopolitan magazine’s April issue, Scarlett Johansson speaks out about women’s issues. Johansson claims in an interview that as a society, we are moving backwards in regards to achieving equal rights for women.

For example, she discusses the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and how there are systems in place to try to stop the work that the organization does. She reminisces about her teenage years and how she and her friends used Planned Parenthood’s services.” I used [Planned Parenthood’s] services. All my girlfriends did–not just for birth control but for pap smears and breast exams,” Johansson wrote. She believes that Planned Parenthood provides “availability of women’s health initiatives.”

She continues by stating some of Planned Parenthood’s life-saving services such as preventing cervical and breast cancer. She believes that without Planned Parenthood, women are going to be subject to unsafe medical treatment.

“We’re moving backwards when we’re supposed to be moving forward,” she wrote. Without Planned Parenthood, Johansson believes that women aren’t going to have proper access to health services, but this isn’t the only area that she believes needs improvement in terms of women’s rights.

Johansson continues the conversation on women’s issues by delving into the topic of wage inequality. She explains how she feels blessed to be paid the same amount as her male counterparts, but that she  is also saddened that this isn’t the case for many women in the industry, as well as women around the world.

Johansson believes that in order to achieve change, the conversation needs to spread to women in general, and not just women in Hollywood. She says, “there’s something icky about me having that conversation unless it applies to a greater whole.”

For centuries now, women have had to fight for the same rights and equal treatment as men, and this is a goal that has not yet been met. Johansson is very concerned about the idea of society moving backwards rather than forwards, however if these type of conversations continue, there is bound to be change on the horizon.

Johansson has previously remained quiet when it comes to women’s issues, but used Cosmopolitan, a popular magazine targeted at women, as a platform to discuss and bring to light the problems that women everywhere are facing. If you want to know more, check out the full issue, which hits stands on April 12, to read the rest of Johansson’s thoughts.

Feature Image: Gage Skidmore Photo, Courtesy of Flickr URL