Dystopian fiction is rooted in the real world. Discuss.

Attwood produced 'The Handmaid's Tale' in the midst of a worldwide, conservative resurgence. Iran had toppled a progressive democrat and replaced him with hard-line, fundamental religious leaders. Reagan and Thatcher rose to power on a platform of reasserting traditional values. Equal rights acts were being limited, abortion rights held back and the dialogue transitioned to one that stifled and limited women by pressing them back into traditional roles. The links between the world of the 1980s and Gilead are apparent and numerous. Attwood depicts a world where women have totally lost control of their bodies, as they have essentially become sentient wombs, owned entirely by powerful men. In her dystopian tale, Attwood builds a world where a return to traditional, Christian values leads to monstrous and terrifying conclusions.