Throughout A Handmaid's Tale, we see that women have very few rights, and those that they do have are kept in check by very strict punishment. Most of the time, women are suppose to not talk, and just do whatever task they are given. They are not allowed to be out on their own. They have to constantly have something one with them, whether it is a guard or another woman. They have a very strict dress code and a very strict time schedule. All of these rules are meant to keep women in line.
This kind of situation can be compared to that of Saudi Arabia's laws for women. When compared to Saudi Arabia's laws, everything listed above is just about present in their society. In Saudi Arabia, women have very strict clothing laws, that require them to be covered almost all of the time. There women must always be escorted by another man, regardless of where they are going. A teenager was gang-raped by a group of men, but she received a more harsh punishment then the men that committed the act. The women there are intelligent, but they are constantly help to very strict rules that prohibit them from making it anywhere in the world.
http://www.theweek.co.uk/middle-east/60339/eleven-things-women-in-saudi-arabia-cant-do
I believe many Islamic countries are too traditional and old fashioned. While it may have been accepted in the past to treat women like they do and even if its normal in the context of their religion, times have changed. Women should not be forced to wear the hijab if they don't want to and they should be just as equal as men.
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