Mercedes McAllister McAllister 1Mrs. UriarteAP Lit and CompMarch 31, 2014Connections: Gender Equality and EducationClose your eyes and imagine that you are a woman, living in a country once known for its endless freedoms, but now known only for its endless restrictions. You are not allowed to wear makeup, go out in public except to run errands for the house, read, write, or even speak reluctantly. Offred, a woman from the novel "The Handmaid's Tale", experiences a scenario exactly like this. She was once a citizen of the United States, but that once-free country fell into rubble and from there was born the oppressive Republic of Gilead. Offred's experiences throughout the novel are only fiction, however, many women across the world actually go there. through situations similar to his own. Too many countries, like Nigeria, experience gross inequalities in the treatment and rights of men and women. This is a major obstacle for the future of the world. One of the biggest inequality problems is both a consequence of and a barrier to gender inequality. It's a simple lack of education. Many countries are working to close this gap, but those that simply ignore it are far further from a world of equality. To begin, let's delve into the world of Gilead. Right-wing fundamentalists had killed the president and massacred the entire congress. Once the government left, they then embarked on a war that ended with a brand new Church-based government. In this new government, men ruled and “protected” at all costs, destroying anything that stood in the way of the “perfect society” they had created. Women were enslaved in their own homes and deprived of any prior rights ... middle of paper ... and sexual harassment in the workplace was outlawed. These laws, among many others, put in place, have considerably pushed women towards an equal place in relation to men. Despite the drastic changes made towards improving equal rights, many issues have still been neglected, or simply ignored. According to Mario Osave (2010) “Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), many girls and women still do not have the same opportunities to enjoy the rights recognized by law. In many countries, women do not have the right to own property or inherit land. Social exclusion, “honor” killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, restricted mobility and early marriage, among others, deprive women and girls of the right to health and increase illness and death throughout life. (Shah 1)