In a new 60-second commercial launched just before Christmas and sponsored by HIV and AIDS drug maker Gilead, we see American actor, Tony Award winner and HIV patient André De Shields sitting directly in front of the camera saying simply: “HIV is not crime.”

Gilead is a strict, totalitarian regime that bases its laws and customs around only a very literal, fundamentalist interpretation of the Christian Bible.

The daughters of Gilead, as they are commonly referred to by the government, are supposed to learn obedience, modesty, and responsibility. Once they have had their first menstrual cycle, they are declared women and are married off to soldiers who have recently returned from the battlefront.

Gilead isn't just a work of total imagination - there's precedence for that world. It may not mirror the United States in its current form, but its structure and customs do mirror aspects of 17th century New England Puritanism and dictatorships seen in different eras across the globe.

The name of the country, Gilead, is taken from the Bible, as is the concept of handmaids as bearers of children in substitution for wives of patriarchs. Most notable is Hagar, handmaid of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

The Angels are the most skilled soldiers in Gilead's military. They fight against what is left of the United States. Gilead wishes to expand its territory further west, but the remaining residents of the United States refuse to give up their land and submit to...

As revealed in the season 1 episode "A Woman's Place," inorganic farming and radioactivity are to blame for declining fertility. But fear not: Gilead has a solution for our sick, sick planet, too.

The Bible records that in ancient times there came from Gilead, beyond the Jordan, a substance used to heal and soothe. It came, perhaps, from a tree or shrub, and was a major commodity of trade in the ancient world. It was known as the Balm of Gilead. That name became symbolic for the power to soothe and heal.

To discover, develop and deliver innovative therapeutics for people with life-threatening diseases.

In The Handmaid's Tale, religion is one of the two main means of control used by the regime. In fact, the entire society is built upon a warped form of Christianity where the scriptures of the Bible are used to find precedents for laws and regulations that the regime has created.

The persecution of women in Gilead is partially inspired by a real-life "witch." Atwood has made no secret that "The Handmaid's Tale" takes inspiration from the Salem witch trials and the demonizing, threatening, and even killing of innocent women that took place during that time.

In the show, there's a black Commander who got his wife pregnant. And the novel mentions that very few lucky wives of commanders get pregnant. (Albeit it is mentioned that some wives, like the handmaids, resort to other men). So, it seems to be that married couples are allowed sex.