This replica of a handmaid's bonnet is in our Dystopian Fiction collection.

The outfit is described in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, a dystopian novel set in a future U.S. governed by an extremist religious group, where women's rights have been drastically reduced, and many women are enslaved to reproduce. In the novel, the red cloak and dress, worn with a white bonnet, are described as a “modesty costume.”  It is intended to function as a sign of female subservience.

Since the 2017 Hulu series based on the novel, the costume has become a symbol of female protest against erosion of women's rights across the world. In 2017, women dressed as handmaids marched to Capitol Hill in Washington to protest at the Republican healthcare bill. Protesters against Donald Trump's visit to the UK also wore handmaid costumes.

It has also been used in Poland, Argentina, and Croatia in protests against laws affecting women's rights.