Pssst: the real Handmaids live in Saudi

I have criticized Atwood's book the Poisonwood Bible, on Africa for making caricatures of actual Africans (she based the book on Marxist analysis of colonialism rather than what she actually observed as a child when her family lived there for a few years).

Though very few people acually have read or seen The Handmaid's Tale, but I wonder if they realize that it has parallels in today's world; No, not Trumpie boy and those terrible Christiancists ( a straw man fallacy)

but it closely resembles reality of today's elderly feminists in America who outsource motherhood, sex, and childbearing to the help.

I am talking about surrogate "motherhood", which like "buying organs" sounds fine to the rich and powerful but is actually exploitation of the poor.

NPR report here. The middle men get the largest cut, of course...

Yes, poor moms are exploited and many regret doing it and mourn for their lost children.

and I won't even mention upper class white yuppies who outsource child care to underpaid "day care" workers and/or overwork their maids and Yayas (under the threat of deporting them to "la Migra").

But of course, the dirty little secret is that the real "Handmaid's tale" has close parallels to the sexual abuses against maids and caregivers in some Muslim countries (illegal, but overlooked).

Asian news article on the mistreatment of Filipina OFW in Saudi.

Also LINK:  (CarbonatedTV)

A 2009 study conducted by John Leonard Monterona had revealed how a large number of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are "victims of sexual abuses, maltreatment, unpaid salaries and other labor malpractices."
If their local sponsor/agent doesn't double as a human trafficker, then the job assigned to them is long, arduous and thankless to the point of slavery. But the thing that takes the cake is the way many are treated by their employers. 

a more readable feminist approach to women in Saudi can be found in Jean Sasson's Princess series of books, told from the point of view of a Saudi woman: including the good parts of that society but also the need to reform to protect vulnerable women, which is one of the passions of the Princess who is the heroine of the story... (and includes many anecdotes about these problems women face).

here is an interview which alas is full of shouting and interuptions.





I have several of these books with me here, but they also can be found at Scribd...

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update: I should add that although many Filipinas work as caregivers in the Middle East because of poverty, a lot of them sign up again after their contract is up because they feel part of the family and are comfortable with the family oriented culture of the Middle East.

Like the Philippines, the maids are considered part of the family and cared for, and like the Philippines, they  work for extended families, and are religious. So the maids feel at home.