The Real Handmaid’s Tale: True Oppression and True Freedom in Christ

A Misapplied Story

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is often used in Western culture as a warning against Christianity or conservative values. Critics claim it is a picture of “patriarchal oppression” waiting to take root in America. However, this comparison misses the mark. Western women enjoy freedoms unknown in much of the world; education, careers, the right to vote, freedom of speech, property ownership, and most importantly, the freedom to worship God openly.

Meanwhile, real women today live under conditions nearly identical to Atwood’s fictional Gilead not in the West, but in places like Iran and Afghanistan, where strict religious rule has stripped them of basic human rights.

The Real Inspiration Behind Gilead

Atwood herself admitted she didn’t invent anything in her book; she only borrowed from actual history.

• Iran (1979): Following the Islamic Revolution, women were forced to wear the veil, lost many professional roles, and were restricted from higher education.

• Afghanistan (1996–2001; 2021–present): Under Taliban rule, women were barred from school, forbidden to work, silenced in public, and punished harshly for so-called “immodesty.”

When you see images of women fully covered, unable to speak freely, and denied education, you are seeing the true-life picture of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Christianity: A Different Story

Unlike oppressive systems, Christianity has always elevated women.

• Jesus and Women: Jesus spoke to women publicly (John 4), taught them as disciples (Luke 10:39), and honored their faith (Mark 5:34). Women were the first witnesses of His resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10), a radical testimony in a world that dismissed women’s voices.

• Equality in Salvation: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

• God’s Design in Roles: While men and women have distinct roles in the home and church, they share the same worth, dignity, and calling as image-bearers of God (Genesis 1:27).

Far from silencing women, Christianity gave women a voice, dignity, and equal standing before God, something no other worldview of the ancient world offered.

The Danger of False Comparisons

By constantly comparing The Handmaid’s Tale to life in the West, we risk two grave errors:

1. We minimize real suffering. Afghan and Iranian women are not characters in a novel; they are real people facing severe oppression today.

2. We slander Christianity. Instead of recognizing the freedom and dignity Christ gives, young minds are being trained to view the Bible as the enemy of women.

This is not only untrue, but it diverts attention away from those who need advocacy the most.

A Call to Christian Women

We as women of faith must speak clearly:

• Oppression of women is real but it is not found in biblical Christianity.

• We must defend the truth of God’s Word and correct the false narrative that following Christ enslaves women.

• We should advocate for the voiceless women who are enslaved today under oppressive systems, while living as bold witnesses of the freedom we have in Christ.

The Word says: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Conclusion

The true Handmaid’s Tale is not about American women losing rights under Christianity; it’s about what happens when false religions and oppressive ideologies strip women of God-given dignity.

Only Christ offers real freedom, real equality, and real hope. Let us live boldly in that truth and let us speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)