I’m reading the follow up to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale (The Testaments) and again find my mind in Gilead. The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a dystopian United States where the vast majority of women can no longer have children. In response to this crisis, an authoritarian government allows those in power to subjugate fertile women, forcing them to work as “handmaids” (sex/birth slaves/surrogates) for elite families. Taken from their own families by paramilitaries, the handmaids live under the watchful eye of the state, are granted no rights, and are treated like servants. Fear of being singled out for punishment overshadows their days, and as we hear through the thoughts of Offred, the main character, they are allowed freedom only in the alcoves of the mind. In the view of elites who control them, the maidens are sub-human; yet the maidens hold the keys to life. As life-holders, they have the power in a society where fertility is perilously low. Because of this fact, it is all the more important—from the perspective of the system—to keep them isolated, disenfranchised, and afraid, unable to see their inherent leverage…. {Read remainder of article on Patheos HERE.}
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Absolutely agree. We thrive because of their contributions, yet they are treated as subhuman and not worthy of dignity and respect. And so often I see that it is people who showcase their own Christianity who treat immigrants with such disregard.