(Almost) Real Handmaids

“Recent studies underscore [womens] limited control over material and other resources, their restricted access to knowledge and information, their constrained authority to make independent decisions, their enforced lack of physical mobility, and their inability to forge equitable power relationships within families.”

– (Jejeebhoy, 2002)

One may think the above is an account from a fictional dystopic society such as the Republic of Gilead portrayed in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. However, it may appall some to know that it is a description of the status of women in rural India.

When I first read The Handmaid’s Tale, I was struck by the horrific picture painted by Atwood. I consoled myself by saying that what is being proposed is so extreme that its occurrence is very unlikely. It simply cannot be that a group of women are treated as nothing more than robots with the sole job of giving birth to perfect children. However, as I engaged with the book on a deeper level, I realized that Atwood is actually presenting a reflection of the society we live in. In fact, certain aspects of my own culture reflect the oppression and second-class treatment of women. Perhaps, along with providing a harrowing tale of what may happen if we succumb to fear, give up our liberty, and stop fighting for our rights, Atwood is also illustrating the state women deteriorate to without education and empowerment.

The Republic of Gilead is a totalitarian theocracy which has stripped women of the basic freedoms they used to enjoy. They are not allowed to read, have restricted mobility, and have no say in any matter. They also have very few opportunities to socialize and are forbidden from falling in love. The Handmaids are the only fertile women left and their job is to bear children to the Commanders and their Wives. If they are unable to, they are considered “unwomen” and sent to the colonies, were they presumably work as laborers under harsh conditions. In the flashbacks, the novel shows what the life of the protagonist, Offred, was like before the establishment of Gilead. Offred was educated and had a job with money of her own. She lived her life independently even after marrying Luke. It was not until the totalitarian regime was established and all women lost their jobs and access to their bank accounts that Offred felt like she was dependent on Luke and thinks, “already he’s starting to patronize me” (The Handmaid’s Tale, pg. 179). Through all this, perhaps Atwood is trying to show the potential that Offred had when living an unrestricted life as an independent educated woman.

A direct correlation of this is seen in a study conducted by Shireen Jejeebhoy, in which she investigated the autonomy of women by interviewing wives and their husbands in two different parts of rural India: the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Although these states are different culturally, they were chosen because of their similar poor economic conditions. In these areas, women are considered inferior and it is implicitly understood that the husbands dominate their wives over all matters. Women here are generally illiterate and get married at an early age after which their main aim is to give birth to children. The degree of women’s autonomy was evaluated through three variables: freedom of mobility, access to economic resources, and the power to make decisions for the family. Although there were some differences between the regions, overall, it was found that in both regions, women are restricted in all three areas; they have limited mobility, limited access to monetary assets, and limited power to make decisions. In fact, sometimes the women reported that they did not even consider that they may be authorized to make decisions (Jejeebhoy, 2002). This disempowerment is now so ingrained that women do not know how else to behave. This is exactly what the authorities in Gilead hoped to achieve. In Aunt Lydia’s words, “This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.” (The Handmaid’s Tale, pg. 33)

The study also found that the degree of autonomy was dependent on the education of the women. Between the two regions studied, there is a higher gender difference in literacy in Uttar Pradesh with 56% educated males and 25% educated females, compared to the smaller difference in Tamil Nadu with 74% educated males and 51% educated females (Jejeebhoy, 2002). Not only does Tamil Nadu have a smaller gender gap, but it also has a higher female literacy rate. This was translated to a higher degree of autonomy exercised by women in Tamil Nadu in all the variables tested. The literacy rate also had an effect on the fertility rate of the women, which was 5.1 children per woman in Uttar Pradesh and 2.2 in Tamil Nadu (Jejeebhoy, 2002). Although it cannot be concluded from this study that education is the only factor causing social change, it certainly plays a pivotal role. Other studies have shown that progress in the social status of women usually occurs simultaneously with progress in their education and this is why all over the world, advocates of women’s rights underscore education as an important factor in empowering women and elevating their position in society (Kamat, 1976). Perhaps this is what the authorities of Gilead had in mind when one of the major restrictions they placed on women (except for the Aunts) was that they were not allowed to read and all books were burned.

Women have long fought for equal treatment as men. In many parts of the world, women are still treated as second class citizens. They are not provided with equal educational opportunities and their empowerment is not emphasized. What seems to be a futuristic and rather perplexing establishment, is actually right from our very lives. Although women in rural India are not explicitly labeled as Handmaids, their resemblance to Gilead’s Handmaids is undeniable. These women live in a secular democracy, yet like the Eyes in Gilead, are ubiquitously watched by society. Both these examples show that it is imperative that we do not take our freedoms for granted and continue to fight for our rights and endorse the empowerment of women through education.

References

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1998.

Hammer, Stephanie B. “The World as It will Be? Female Satire and the Technology of Power in “The Handmaid’s Tale”” Modern Language Studies 20 (1990): 39-49.

Jejeebhoy, Shireen J. “Convergence and Divergence in Spouses’ Perspectives on Women’s Autonomy in Rural India.” Studies in Family Planning 33 (2002): 299-308.

Kamat, A. R. “Women’s Education and Social Change in India.” Social Scientist 5 (1976): 3-27.