Oppression of Women in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

This essay explores the oppression of women in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and its relevance to today's society. It discusses the themes of male dominance, restricted rights, and the stigmatization of women.

"Give me children, or else I die. There's more than one meaning to it.” (Atwood, 61). With this quote,
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale contests the stigmatization of women in society. The novel is a
story of how male dominance and leadership have provoked demands for women's rights in society. The
narrative describes how the new Christian administration has restricted women's rights. Offred is the
protagonist of the tale, and she suffers the same kinds of hardships that the other women in the book
do. Over the course of the novel, the author employs a number of flashbacks to fill in the reader on the
activities that led up to the novel's inception. The story's narrator explains the theory behind how the
Christian government restricted women to gender roles in which they had no voice or choice.This
essay’s aim is to relate the oppression of women in the novel to today’s society.
As seen through Offred's eyes, the Gilead Society is a totalitarian regime that has overtaken the United
States. The religious puritanism that gives rise to Gilead's harsh patriarchal culture. The book's
authenticity is what stands out the most. Everything that occurs is true, which may come as a surprise to
some readers; in the prologue, Atwood clarifies that the events she described really did take place
someplace and at some point. Only she could tie everything together. For this reason, "The Handmaid's
Tale" can be classified as both science fiction and speculative fiction. Atwood defines it as works that
explore "latent possibilities," or those that have the potential to become reality but have not yet done
so. When first released in the 1980s, the work was met with skepticism and dismissed as science fiction;
after all, was it feasible for a developed civilization like the United States to dramatically retreat in civil
rights? I am sure many people did not think so.
Everything is feasible now, but protecting and enhancing people's rights is still a difficult and delicate
balancing act. Recent events have shown that, while we do not live in the world of "The Handmaid's
Tale," a society like Gilead is not impossible. We are not living in Gilead yet, but there are Gilead-like
symptoms going on, as Atwood emphasized following Trump's election in 2016. It's true that there are
some eerily accurate parallels between the novel and the world as we know it today. Starting with the
premise that in “The Handmaid’s Tale” women are first and foremost seen as the mothers of society.
Their biological potential to have offspring is used to classify them and identify who they are. Women
who are fertile are handmaids; they are assigned to a couple in whom the lady is sterile and their main
task is to get pregnant and give birth. Their job is to pose as a third party in various relationships. As a
result, birth control and abortion are forbidden so that as many women as possible can have children.
This repressive social structure is related to the international problems with abortion and contraception
that persist in many parts of the world. Some severe cases include Poland's attitude on abortion, while
others include the lack of access to contraception in some areas and the selection of Justice Amy Barrett
in the United States.To be sure, "contraceptive deserts" are regions where women do not have easy
access to a health center that provides a full range of contraceptive options. When women feel
pressured to choose against using contraception, they often do so even though they would benefit from
using such methods. Women's rights discussions have also been sparked by the recent nomination of
Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court. However, she did characterize abortion as "always immoral" and
confirm that "specifics on access and sanctioned limits [on abortion] could alter," suggesting that the
decision might be revisited. So, it makes sense to worry that the advancement of women's rights could
take a step back with her nomination. And it's very unsettling that Barrett replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg
on the Supreme Court in her absence. Ginsburg was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court and
was often referred to as the "Supreme Courts feminist icon." Now, she will be replaced with a
conservative woman. This next Supreme Court appointment seems like a step backward.

The novel gives the impression of being feminist on the ground. The author has chosen to have a female
character and narrator so that male readers might better understand feminism from the perspective of
women. However, the story develops far further. Instead of showing us the world as it is, the author
obscures it. She creates a brand-new universe in which women do not have the same level of
independence as those born in the last century. According to Atwood, the dystopian society of Gilead is
characterized by its complete reliance on male leadership. Aunts helped the men by instructing the
handmaids in the ways of servitude. These traits are not indicative of strong women because they were
passed down from the aunts. Women were urged to be submissive and respectful by the aunts' use of
biblical verses. These ladies are staunch believers in feminism. They almost serve as caricatures of
radical feminism due to the number of times their actions are derailed by men's sexist hatred. Poland's
nearly complete prohibition of abortion is a more extreme and tangible example. It's troubling enough
that Poland has abortion laws, but what makes the situation in that country particularly alarming is that
these are not simply outdated restrictions that have not been updated. Abortions in Poland are only
legal "in circumstances of rape or incest or when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother" as of
October 2020. The constitutionality of the statute passed in 1993 that legalized abortions in cases of
fetal abnormalities was upheld in this case. According to the BBC, in 2019 “98% of abortions were
carried out on such grounds” which explains the expression “near absolute ban”. The European Union is
not endorsing this blatant attack on women's rights.
During the time before Gilead, Offred exemplified sexual harassment against women through her
activities. If the book is to be believed, once Offred became Luke's mistress, they would often meet at
seedy motels to engage in sexual activity. Offred's departure from feminism is further demonstrated by
the fact that she showed no desire to join the rebel organization. While Offred is a great friend to
Ofglen, who is a rebel, she lacks the confidence to join the gang herself. After beginning an affair with
Nick, she looks to be happy living in Gilead. Nick's influence causes her to give up any hope of ever
escaping, and even if she does manage to do so, it will be entirely his doing. She eventually paid the
price for taking feminism's victories in terms of sexual freedom for granted. This is analogous to how
men are rarely held accountable for sexual violence. In the UK, the great majority of rape victims are
women. At least 55,130 rapes were reported to authorities in 2019–2020. In England and Wales, just
2,102 of those led to charges being filed, and 1,439 of those led to convictions. Additionally, a parallel
may be drawn by looking at the recent case of Princess Latifa and how it exemplifies the superiority of
men over women. Since she attempted to leave Dubai in 2018, she has claimed her father of holding her
captive every month since February. These charges of tyranny, abuse and control against her father
Mohammed ben Rachid Al Maktoum entailed questions regarding women’s rights in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) (UAE). In truth, while women do have rights, “some of them are contingent on the legal
approval of a male guardian”, usually the husband of male next of kin. All of these incidents show that
women’s rights, and in general individual and civils’ rights, are fragile and we should not take them for
granted.
In conclusion, the women of Gilead struggle to find their identities because to a lack of personal
freedom. The women, and especially the Handmaids, suffer from oppression based on their physical
appearance. Their Commanders routinely engage in sexual acts of abuse and rape against them. The
Handmaid's one and only job is to get pregnant by their Commander, a decision they are not allowed to
make. It is established early on when Offred remarks on another pregnant Handmaid, Ofwarren: "She's a
magic presence to us, an object of envy and yearning, we covet her. As a symbol of hope, she reminds us

that it is not too late to be saved.” This quotation illustrates the unjust restriction of freedom endured
by the Handmaids of Gilead by demonstrating how the men of that society have conditioned them to
believe that having a child is their only hope for redemption. Being pregnant against one's will is the only
thing these young women want, and the sad truth is that there is no way out of being a Handmaid. As a
result of being objectified, women lose any sense of worth as human beings and confidence in their
ability to have healthy, lasting relationships with males. These barren women are held back from
reaching their full potential by the oppression they experience simply for bearing children.