"A Handmaid's Tale" is a book turned series that has been the talk of my friend groups for a few months now. After finally picking up the book this past week, I feel like I finally understand the concerns that are being voiced in conversation.
To bridge any gaps on the off chance that you haven't heard, it is a book by Margaret Atwood about a future New England where themes of women's subjugation and the struggles of a patriarchal society. It follows the narrative of a handmaid named Offred, who offers insights into her life about the fall of women's rights and her life. Women with good reproductive rights are taken as handmaids, based off of the biblical scenario with Abraham, Sarah, and Bilhah. In essence, these women were captured, indoctrinated, and are forced to have children with governors due to a fertility crisis.
The connection that my friends are making is to the recent attack on women's rights, mainly with the concern about Roe Vs Wade. While the item is official and cannot be changed, the attack on the premise behind it is earning quite a bit of retaliation, and rightfully so.
It is, regardless of the fact that it won't be changed, an attack on women's rights. After years of women fighting to have equal rights and still fighting, this is something that is almost offensive and completely uncalled for.
Whatever the case ends up being, the political talk and they subtle ways religion has been able to affect the decisions of Congress definitely is something that the novel has nods to. There is a clear statement that deals with the separation of church and state in the Constitution. While it is perfectly okay to live by your belief system in your personal life, it is a totally different situation when it comes to letting those beliefs dictate the lives of those that you have sworn to serve and protect. It isn't fundamentally right or fair to impose your beliefs on anyone else, much less an entire people. Rights are rights, in essence, something that once they are given, shouldn't be taken away. While I understand that there will always be conflicting opinions on certain things, we always have to think of the good of everyone.
In "Handmaid's Tale," women's rights are stripped away, from reproductive to education. It basically is a regression for them, and many are fully aware. With the behaviors of the leaders in power now, women have found it more necessary to vocalize what their rights are and fight back. While Offred escaped her fate and New England turned around, it raises the concerns that maybe...just maybe...our country can end up like that. The way that women have brushed aside and not particularly represented in power leaves a lot to be desired of our leadership. As my friends and I were saying, we need more transparency, more representation, and more equality in our country if we think we want to move forward. If we want to progress, and not to end up like the women in the novel, women need their rights.
