The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid ’s Taleis one of the most frightening dystopia in television account . The United States of America has been replaced by the Republic of Gilead , an extremely oppressive theocracy that enslaves and subjugate intimately every one of its citizens , and even its rule course is often victim to its uncivilized punishments .

Almostno one would willingly last in a country like Gilead , so the politicians of the nation have act out laws that have basically guarantee that no one in the nation can leave , either because they do n’t get it on how or because they ’re too frightened to stand up against their government . Pretty much every one of their laws is an objective object lesson in the repulsion of extremism , but some laws adhere out as the big of the worst . These are the most terrific jurisprudence in Gilead .

Women Can’t Vote

Any woman hold out in the Western world would be horrify at the mind of their right hand to vote being taken away , and it says a circumstances about Gilead ’s societal bodily structure and constabulary that this is actually one of the least horrifying Torah that they have enacted on their world .

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The governing body of Gilead is completely confusing and unclear , and it come out that this is an intentional move to obfuscate where the power truly rest . So in that gumption , it ’s really a question of how much ballot in the " Republic " of Gilead even matter at this point .

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Citizens Do Not Have The Right To A Fair Trial

The right to a just tribulation is one of the most vital elements of many genteel society , so the fact that the people of Gilead are capable to the obvious farce of their Department of Justice system is frightening .

Many do n’t even have the opportunity to verbalise in their own defense , as Emily ’s arrest early on in the serial demonstrated , she was literally gagged throughout her brief trial run . Terrifyingly , even the elite of Gilead can be " strain " without any remark or cognizance of what ’s going on . If commanders at the level of Warren Putnam can be execute in world , clear no one is safe .

Women Can’t Write

It ’s beyond flakey to imagine any government get to it literally illegal for one-half of their universe to even publish , but Gilead is nothing if not the most uttermost imaginable oppression . The Biblical justification for this law is pretty much nonexistent , but the factual watchword of the Bible clearly does n’t have a lot of shock on the reality of Gilead ’s extremist legal philosophy .

Book have mogul , as Serena Joy Waterford ’s prior career as an extreme right - wing generator demonstrated . And since women in Gilead are supposed to have as little power as potential , it ’s unfortunately understandable that they ’re now cast out from write , though that makes it no less dire .

Women Can’t Read

In addition to being forbidden from writing , cleaning lady are also forbidden from read . This is a horrifying but brilliant little twist of a practice of law from Gilead as well , because while they use the Bible to justify every dread thing that they do , if women are ban from read then they ca n’t precisely prove or disprove that Gilead ’s laws are really completely made - up nonsense .

likewise , while writing is an objective and observable " offense , " the ban on reading is peculiarly scary in a world like Gilead because it is an accusation that can be easy levied and not easy disprove .

Women Can Be Deemed “Unwomen”

Women are patently extremely restricted in the Republic of Gilead , but amazingly , it ’s potential to be even low-pitched on the totem pole than a Gilead woman .

Unwomen are essentially women who ca n’t fit into the young Gilead society for some reason . Either they ca n’t align to the raw human beings order , or they ’re " outlaw " ( i.e. they were societal justice advocates or in the pre - Gilead earned run average , or engaged in some other profession or conduct that Gilead found unsufferable ) . Becoming an " unwoman " is like being announce persona non grata in Gilead , and even the hollow and extremely limited " rights " that women have in the companionship are take away from unwomen .

Competing Religions Are Outlawed

In a theocracy , it ’s upsettingly realistic to take that all other religion will be criminalize and that people who adhere to those religions may be punished very raspingly for their differ point of view .

But Gilead ’s particular make of Christianity seems to be the most extreme fire - and - brimstone version of the faith , and while they have made " competing " religions illegal , they have also made every branch of Christianity besides their own illegal . And of course , anyone who is discovered to be of a different religion is typically condemn to death for their heresy .

Women Can’t Own Property

This is yet another one of the more pernicious laws in Gilead ’s social club . Because given the entire societal structure of the nation , this really comes as no surprise . But when it come to disenfranchising its population , there is really no greater extreme that they could go to .

Things like literacy and spiritual exemption are doubtless of import , inalienable right wing for all humans on land , but to traverse someone ownership of literally anything in the world entirely traps them in their place in lifetime and gives them zero means of escape . That is likely the precise motivation behind this law of nature , but that make it far scarier and more subtle .

Contraception Is Illegal

The entire nation ofGilead is apparently built around resolving the plummeting parturition ratesby any mean necessary . But as becomes obvious to anyone who can see beneath that tenuous veneer , creating and protect children is not of genuine business concern and is only used as an excuse for even more extreme ascendance .

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The oppressive nation tends to babble out out of both side of its mouth when it number to birthing more infant by any means necessary , because paradoxically , anyone who is find using contraception can be punish by demise ( and if birthing children is all that matters , how could any dying of fertile people be justified ) .

Split image of June and Emily’s arrests in Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale

Abortion Is Retroactively Illegal

Given Gilead ’s stance on childbirth and childbearing in general , abortion being the biggest of taboo is not a huge shock . However , what makes their laws regarding it even more terrifying is that it ’s not just illegal in Gilead , but it ’s a crime if a woman has ever had an abortion , even if she had it in a time or lieu where it was legal .

And unsurprisingly , this gives the state the opportunity toarrest fertile woman and sentence them to serve as a servant to make up for their sin .

Male Next Of Kin Rule Women And Children

Gilead is a nation that relies on the subjugation of its people to officiate , and one of the clearest and easiest ways that they ’ve made this occur is by only pass on any real sound rights to men . The cleaning lady and children of their society are pretty much belongings belong to to their male person next of kin , whether that ’s their father , hubby , or whatever man is left over after the revolution .

In this mean solar day and age , most people would imagine that ’s impossible because any noetic person understands that one human ca n’t be owned by another , but this idea is one of the primary cornerstones of Gilead ’s universe .

Second Marriages Are Retroactively Illegal

Althoughflashbacks of June ’s story have demonstrated that she was literally an adultererwho began her relationship with Luke while he was still married to someone else , that ’s not all that characterize as criminal conversation in the eyes of Gilead .

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According to their laws , only first marriages are legal . This stand for that anyone in the US who had been divorced and then wed again had their 2nd married couple dissolved and were considered crook in the eyes of the land .

Serena Joy Waterford in The Handmaid’s Tale

Actions Can Be Made Retroactively Illegal

This idea is self - evident because there are already specific human action that Gilead has made retroactively illegal , but retroactive laws are extremely uncommon in civilized social club because it is an implausibly dangerous case law to set .

It ’s even more frightening in the brutal political atmosphere of Gilead , because it essentially means that those in power can produce law of nature to direct their enemies despite the fact that they were n’t actually doing anything illegal at the time that the action was taken .

“Gender Treachery” Is Illegal

According to the laws of Gilead , sexual intercourse is solely for breeding and therefore is only legally permitted between a man and a woman . So of course of instruction , anyone who is not heterosexual is illegal .

It ’s one thing to criminalise behaviors , but to make the existence of an actual person illegal is truly incomprehensible . It ’s not surprising in the least that a bunch of religious ideologues would bet at LGBTQ+ sexualities as a sin or even as a offence , but it flies in the face of the most cardinal human rights in the humanity .

The Free Press Is Illegal

This is a law that once again seems downright logical harmonize to Gilead ’s complete illogic , but once the exemption of the wardrobe is go it ’s starkly clear how important it is as a basic human right .

Half of the universe ca n’t read anyway , and the government of Gilead has no pastime in letting its the great unwashed fuck what it ’s up to , so the notion that they would have any military press at all seems like a bit of a stretch . But concealment of information and truth is one of the most severe and easiest ways to see millions of citizenry too .

Freedom Of Speech Is Illegal

Freedom of manner of speaking is undoubtedly see as an inalienable human right field in the middle of most of the show ’s audience , but the realities of what banning free address means are legitimately terrifying to see inThe Handmaid ’s Tale .

Citizens Are Not Equal Under The Eyes Of The Law

This is one of the most inherently obvious aspects of Gilead ’s society that is also one of its most unsettling , but finally the the great unwashed of Gilead are not adequate under the eye of its law .

The form system within Gilead is incredibly rigid , the political science can alter the class of its citizens at random , and only the highest echelon of the social classes seems to get any preferential treatment whatsoever . But , the impression of one action being a offense punishable by death for a certain year while not being a crime at all for another flies in the human face of most people ’s perception of inherent human par and really illustrates how unjust the Gilead justice system is .

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Emily (Ofglen) being arrested in The Handmaid’s Tale

Serena Joy Waterford in The Handmaid’s Tale

Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale

Alexis Bledel as Oflgen/Emily in The Handmaid’s Tale

June Osborne From The Handmaid’s Tale in front of Angel Wings.

Fred and Serena Joy Waterford in The Handmaid’s Tale

Commander Lawrence and June in The Handmaid’s Tale

Janine holding Charlotte (Angela) on The Handmaid’s Tale

Commander Pryce standing with Nick in The Handmaid’s Tale

Luke holding onto June while sitting on the steps in The Handmaid’s Tale

Fred Waterford from The Handmaid’s Tale is in an angry mood.

Moira volunteering with refugees in Canada in The Handmaid’s Tale

June Osborne in The Handmaid’s Tale

Madeline Brewer as Janine in Handmaid’s Tale

Serena Joy from The Handmaid’s Tale sitting with Fred, June in the background dressed as a handmaid.

The Handmaid’s Tale