The Handmaid's Dystopia"The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dystopia about a world where unrealistic things happen. The events in the novel could never take place in ours reality." This is what most people think and assume, but they are wrong. Look at the world today and in the recent past, and there are not only many situations that have ALMOST become Gilead, but places that have been and ARE Gilead societies. We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy! Even today there are places in the world where there is a striking resemblance to this fictional dystopia. In Pakistan, women's rights are non-existent and many policies are those of Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale. In Gilead, handmaids must cover their bodies and faces almost completely with valleys and wings. In Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Bahrain and other similar South Asian countries, this is a must for women. Other persecutions similar to those of Gilead take place against women. In Pakistan, women can be raped and unless there is complete evidence that there was no consent, the man will get away with impunity and the women charged with premarital sex and sentenced to a prison term. In Afghanistan, police forces have and continue to torture and rape innocent women for unnecessary reasons. This is similar to The Handmaid's Tale where Offred and other handmaids not only go through the devastation of "The Ceremony", but can also be used and perhaps even raped by their commanders, and there is nothing the handmaid can do to the regard. . If she speaks, she is usually not believed and then sent away because she broke the law. The handmaid would usually die for making such accusations. In Gilead, women are afforded few or no rights. They obey what they are told by men or by their aunts (who receive orders from men). They are not allowed to read, write or participate in any extracurricular activities. They are alive only to serve a purpose. In countries like Iran, women are subject to similar laws. Although more recently they are allowed to read and write, this is only at a rigorous level and activities are out of the question. There is no specific law prohibiting this, however with the Islamic government making it mandatory for all women to wear full body coverings, sports and other activities are nearly impossible.