The Handmaid’s Tale

A story that takes you back to the beginning…

To a time when women were told what their sole purpose in life was—and expected to stick to it. No job profile changes, no compensation, no appraisals. Just obedience.

It’s a dystopian nightmare, yes. But in many ways, it’s also a reflection of realities that still exist today.

Though available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in India, The Handmaid’s Tale is originally a Hulu production. And yes—it’s packed with drama. The kind that makes you squirm. The kind that makes you question: Wait, are we really in the 21st century?

What’s terrifying is that much of what the show depicts still happens in parts of the world. I often wonder how people in those places watch this show—do they see it as horror? Or do they watch in disbelief that women once had rights, freedom of speech, and even the choice to wear what they liked?

But then again, if this is the state of things in those nations, the women probably wouldn’t be watching this at all—they might not even have the right to entertainment.

The story is set in a dystopian future where the United States (and parts of Canada) have been overtaken by a totalitarian regime called Gilead. This regime rises from a fertility crisis, where widespread infertility is blamed on moral decay. Gilead believes the Bible has been misinterpreted and that divine punishment has taken away the gift of childbirth. So, they reimagine society—with rigid, theocratic roles based on gender, class, and fertility.

Everyone in Gilead is assigned a role. Your uniform color defines your identity:

• Commanders in black: the ruling elite.

• Wives in blue: infertile women married to Commanders.

• Marthas in grey: domestic help—cooks, cleaners, caregivers.

• Handmaids in red: fertile women forced to bear children for the elite.

And what exactly does a Handmaid do? She is a vessel. A womb. Assigned to a Commander whose Wife cannot conceive. She undergoes a so-called “ritual” (read: systemic rape) where the Wife is also present in the room, symbolically participating to maintain the illusion of propriety.

This continues until the Handmaid becomes pregnant and delivers the child—who is immediately taken away. She is then reassigned to another family. The more babies she produces, the more "valuable" she becomes.

Women who can't conceive—or resist—are sent either to the Colonies (radioactive wastelands where they work until they die) or to Jezebels—underground brothels that serve as “entertainment” for Gilead’s powerful men.

And the scary part? This might be fiction. But it’s also a version of reality—still lived, still endured—by far too many women in too many corners of the world.

In Gilead, only Commanders and their Wives are part of the power structure. Marthas and Handmaids are kidnapped from what was once the modern world—ripped away from their families, their children, their identities. Rebels outside of Gilead continue to fight, trying to rescue their mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters.

Every Handmaid is stripped of her name. She becomes "Of-[Commander’s Name]." June becomes Offred—“Of Fred.” To make the Handmaids comply, they are given new identities and subjected to brutal “schooling,” involving both physical and mental torture. Any attempt to rebel is crushed—literally. Bodies are hung and publicly displayed. Women, including Wives, are stripped of all rights: reading, writing, even thinking. Their sole purpose is to please the husband and ensure reproduction. If they can’t conceive, a Handmaid is brought into the household.

As an audience, you follow the life of June Osborne. Her trials and tribulations, along with those of her friends and fellow Handmaids, keep you gripped. Her daughter—just a baby when she was taken—is the reason June complies… and the reason she fights.

Season after season, you witness the atrocities committed in the name of God. And season after season, you see June rebel, escape Gilead, and then choose to go back—now as part of the resistance. All to find her daughter.

The characters are powerful and complex. What’s especially hard to grasp is how women stand alongside men to commit such horrific crimes against other women. But then again—there’s dowry. So, easy to understand, sadly.

One character who truly stands out is Serena—wife to a powerful Commander. She’s smart, opinionated, and experiences her own awakening. She realises how extreme Gilead has become… and yet, she’s not fully convinced by a world that has no space for God. She eventually moves to New Bethlehem—a “softer” version of Gilead, where women are allowed to read, write, have opinions, and even voice them.

But not for long!

The series is now in its sixth and final season, with just two episodes left. I don’t know what the perfect ending to this tale is—but what’s terrifying is that this isn’t a tale at all in many parts of the world.

Sometimes, I lose perspective on the purpose of religion—any religion. Humans interpret scriptures through their own biases. And the one with the gift of gab ends up convincing others to follow their version.

The obsession with being first in line to heaven—if such a place even exists—drives people to do the most heinous things.

Actor Hugh Grant, playing Mr. Reed in the film Heretic, says:

“The most popular religion is…”In that pause, I thought he’d say fear. But he said: “Control.”

Maybe it all comes down to that—Power. Control.

Wrapped in faith.

If you have the time and the stomach for it, watch The Handmaid’s Tale.

Not just for the performances, but to ask yourself:

Where does your faith lie? And what is your true religion?

-SuVi