The Canadian author, Margaret Atwood who is best known for the dystopian sci-fi novel The Handmaid's Tale, which was recently adapted for TV by Hulu, argues Iceland is the country the rest of the world should be studying when it comes to women's rights and equality. Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale depicts a dark world where authoritarian Christian Conservatives have seized power, constructing a Taliban-style society where women are terrorized.
Read more: Iceland ranked as best place in world to be a woman
In an interview with Forbes Atwood heaps praise on Iceland, arguing it is a shining light in terms of women's rights:
“Iceland is probably a country that we should be studying because they've gone pretty far with equality, and their happiness quotient seems to be quite high.”
Atwood argues that equality and the respect for women's rights makes for a happier society, which should be pretty obvious to any reasonable person, considering the fact that women make up half of the population:
“Does it make for a happier society on the whole if women have more equality? That does seem to be the case. Does it make for a more prosperous economy if women are engaged in the workplace and in decision making around the economy? That too seems to be the case,”
Atwood isn't the first North American to comment on gender relations in Iceland. In 2016 an American pastor briefly became an internet celebrity after releasing a sermon where he denounced Iceland as a Feminist Hell. Unlike Atwood the good preacher has not visited Iceland and appears thoroughly misinformed about the state of affairs in Iceland.
Read more: Watch: American preacher denounces Iceland as a “feminist hell”, “a nation of bastards”
The 78 year old Atwood visited Iceland in June, exploring the country and downtown Reykjavík, dining at Reykjavík restaurants, including Snaps and taking in the view. She shared a photo of her partner, the author Graeme Gibson dressed up as a Viking at the Saga Museum.
A post shared by Margaret Atwood (@therealmargaretatwood) on Jul 12, 2018 at 4:07am PDT
The Canadian author, Margaret Atwood who is best known for the dystopian sci-fi novel The Handmaid's Tale, which was recently adapted for TV by Hulu, argues Iceland is the country the rest of the world should be studying when it comes to women's rights and equality. Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale depicts a dark world where authoritarian Christian Conservatives have seized power, constructing a Taliban-style society where women are terrorized.
Read more: Iceland ranked as best place in world to be a woman
In an interview with Forbes Atwood heaps praise on Iceland, arguing it is a shining light in terms of women's rights:
“Iceland is probably a country that we should be studying because they've gone pretty far with equality, and their happiness quotient seems to be quite high.”
Atwood argues that equality and the respect for women's rights makes for a happier society, which should be pretty obvious to any reasonable person, considering the fact that women make up half of the population:
“Does it make for a happier society on the whole if women have more equality? That does seem to be the case. Does it make for a more prosperous economy if women are engaged in the workplace and in decision making around the economy? That too seems to be the case,”
Atwood isn't the first North American to comment on gender relations in Iceland. In 2016 an American pastor briefly became an internet celebrity after releasing a sermon where he denounced Iceland as a Feminist Hell. Unlike Atwood the good preacher has not visited Iceland and appears thoroughly misinformed about the state of affairs in Iceland.
Read more: Watch: American preacher denounces Iceland as a “feminist hell”, “a nation of bastards”
The 78 year old Atwood visited Iceland in June, exploring the country and downtown Reykjavík, dining at Reykjavík restaurants, including Snaps and taking in the view. She shared a photo of her partner, the author Graeme Gibson dressed up as a Viking at the Saga Museum.
A post shared by Margaret Atwood (@therealmargaretatwood) on Jul 12, 2018 at 4:07am PDT
