{"id":361,"date":"2005-07-04T01:32:56","date_gmt":"2005-07-03T20:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/calamur.org\/gargi\/?p=361"},"modified":"2005-07-04T01:32:56","modified_gmt":"2005-07-03T20:32:56","slug":"the-handmaids-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calamur.org\/gargi\/2005\/07\/04\/the-handmaids-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Handmaid\u2019s Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the more chilling books that i have ever read is the Handmaid’s Tale<\/strong><\/a>.
\nBased in a futue society, that is recovering from a nuclear war, it is about the changed role of women in society. If i can remember right, there were 6 categories of women in society. The highest is the wife, and the lowest the econwife. And there a whole bunch of categories in between.
\nBut, the story is neither about the category wife or econwife. It is about a ‘caste’ called the handmaid. She has only a reproductive function in society. And she sent from family to family to procreate. And, in this society there is only one way left to procreate – the natural way. There is a brilliant bit where the central character, Offred, describes the process of reproducing:<\/p>\n

My red skirt is hitched up to my waist though no higher. Below it the Commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate, because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over the last few months i have often thought about the Handmaid’s tale. Especially in the context of the rights of women in India. While the state guarantees equal rights, neither society nor religion does. And lets fact it – religion and society play a bigger role in most people’s lives than the State – especially when it comes to women’s rights.
\nIn the last ten days, we had the story of Irmana <\/a><\/strong>– raped by her father in law and ordered by a religious board to leave her husband and marry her rapist.<\/p>\n

Then you have the story <\/a><\/strong>from Chattisgarh, where a woman who was raped – and delivered a baby – has been ordered by the village Panchayat to marry her rapist.<\/p>\n

Then of course, crossing the border, you have the famous Mukhtaran Bibi<\/a> <\/strong>case.<\/p>\n

And these are just stories that have been reported. I am sure that there millions more that aren’t.<\/p>\n

Somehow, this entire concept of the chattelization <\/strong>of women – seems to be gaining more ground. The concept of a woman being the vessel for bearing the child and who has no rights on her body is becoming a world wide phenomenon. The resurgance of the religious right across the world, is probably the main contributor towards this.<\/p>\n

If it was a minority community facing the abuse that women do, then it would become a human rights issue. Now it is simply a ‘cultural’ issue or a ‘they will sort it out amongst themselves’ issue. Maybe, women ought to apply for minority status in India. Afterall, with the number of female foetus terminations we will soon become even more a minority than we already are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the more chilling books that i have ever read is the Handmaid’s Tale. Based in a futue society, that is recovering from a nuclear war, it is about the changed role of women in society. 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