'Handmaid's Tale' protestors march for abortion rights in Argentina
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, indeed.
In Buenos Aires, a group of protesters donned red cloaks and white bonnets like those worn in The Handmaid's Tale series, marching for abortion rights in Argentina on Wednesday.
The group of activists, dressed in garb inspired by Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel and Hulu's subsequent Emmy-winning series, gathered outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires.
According to the Associated Press, the demonstrators marched in silence, heads bowed, like the oppressed characters in Atwood's tale.
According to the news service, one protestor read aloud a letter by Atwood herself, who is reportedly a supporter of the Argentine feminist movement — and the author has said that the happenings of her novel are taken from history.
"Nobody likes abortion, even when safe and legal. It’s not what any woman would choose for a happy time on Saturday night. But nobody likes women bleeding to death on the bathroom floor from illegal abortions, either. What to do?" Atwood's letter read.
Argentina's Senate will vote on whether to legalise elective abortions within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy on Aug. 8. The bill was approved by Argentina’s lower house on June 14, and it was close. President Mauricio Macri, though openly opposed to abortion, has said if the bill passes, he would not veto it.
Currently, in Argentina, women are only allowed abortions in instances of rape or if a pregnancy will seriously endanger one's health. But, as AP reports, many women are denied the procedure by doctors or judges, leading many to seek out illegal alternatives — a 2016 report by Argentina’s health ministry estimated around 370,000 to 522,000 Argentine women undergo illegal abortions each year, and currently, it's the main cause of maternal death in the country.
It's not the first time the Handmaid's Tale costume has been donned to protest abortion rights around the world. In March 2017, the so-called Texas handmaids donned red cloaks and white bonnets for a silent protest in the Texas senate gallery in Austin, during a vote on a bill that would ban an abortion procedure used in the second trimester — they later staged another, louder protest in May.
In June of the same year, women donned the costume to protest an abortion bill amendment in Ohio. And in July, members of a pro-choice group did the same in the Isle of Man, silently protesting for abortion rights.
We'll see if it works in Argentina on 8 August.
Topics Activism
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
