How do they control women? What tecniques are used?

The women in the novel are treated pets, although without the respect one gives the favorite family dog. Control of the women is gained through subjugation by the state. Women have no rights, personal or political. They can't vote, work, or get an education. Independence is unheard of, and women must be submissive to the forces around them. A widow may not own property, a married woman is slave to her husband.

A decrease in birth rates creates a state in which a woman's only function becomes that of reproduction. The women are categorized by their reproductive status; Wives, Handmaids, Marthas, Unwomen, Unbabies, Children of Ham and Sons of Jacob. These are their names, they're just one of many.