“Events of the past few years have shown us how we can never take progress for granted. The Testaments could not be more timely for us working on gender equality – we need to remain vigilant, persistent and make ourselves heard.”
-Yasmeen Hassan, Equality Now Global Executive Director
Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, the highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, was published on 10 September. The Testaments is set more than 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale and features the explosive testaments of three female narrators in Gilead. On publication day, Margaret Atwood discussed why she has returned to Gilead at a sold-out event at London’s National Theatre. This event was streamed to over 1,500 cinemas around the world. Find your local cinema screening here. Margaret Atwood will also be touring in Canada, the US, and the UK in the fall following the release of the novel.
“I can’t be in all places at once in my analogue body, but I look forward to being with so many readers via the big screen… I am delighted that the screenings are working in partnership with Equality Now.”
Margaret Atwood
We are honored to partner with Margaret Atwood, Fane Productions, and VINTAGE for the release of this long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale.
Although Gilead and The Testaments are fictional, they hold a mirror up to the state of women’s rights today. Gilead depicts a dystopian future in which women are enslaved, married off, raped, and denied their most fundamental human rights. The patriarchal and discriminatory practices of Gilead are the kinds of practices Equality Now tackles every day.
We hope that the global interest in The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments helps to keep up the momentum to fight for gender equality. Through this partnership, we aim to increase awareness of the violations to women’s rights that happen every day around the world. We join together to ensure Gilead remains fictional, and everyone can live safe, fearless, and free lives.
Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments is available now.