written in the July '97 issue of Homemaker's Magazine. A ragtag band of bandits called the Taliban... thundered into the capital city of Kabul on September 27 of last year, and overnight the lives ofwomen and girls were catapulted back to the dark ages. After hanging the government leaders in thepublic square, the Taliban announced their draconian decrees on the radio: schools for girls wereimmediately closed. Women could no longer work. They had to be completely covered ... because"a woman's face corrupts men."1 (Global Issues) Muslim scholars all over the world say this is a"grab for power and control in a country that's been struggling with unrest for 18 years. It is alsomisogyny, a contempt for women that goes hand in hand with the disturbing rise in extremism inMuslim countires."2 (Global Issues) Men who abuse their power, for whatever reason, pose aserious problem to society's advancement. As Atwood presents this issue in her book, theconnection to the situation in Afghanistan establishes an alarming insight into a conceivable future.Besides the issue of women being manipulated, the government of Gilead in The Handmaid's Taleabuses its power in other ways. Public hangings, or Salvagings, are another example. This method todeter subversive activity is taken to the extreme; "the criminals of society" are first drugged, and thenhung in an absurd setting, where the whole town is forced to witness an act that present Westerncivilization considers private. Yet in Atwood's future world, dead bodies hanging on the Wall are acommon sight. We stop, together as if on signal, and stand and look at the bodies. It doesn't matter ifwe look. We're supposed to look: this is what they are there for, hanging on the Wall. Sometimesthey'll be there for days, until there's a new batch, so as many people as possible will have the chanceto see them. - page 31 The Eyes who control Gilead choose to kill off all political dissenters, falselyaccusing them of...
