Handmaids are separated from the rest of society and have many additional limitations in their situations. Some examples of this are that they have to wear a headscarf and are also restricted from wearing makeup. Handmaids must also have sex with commanders and provide children for the commander and his wife. Their responsibility in Gilead is more essential than people think it is. The reason Gilead needed handmaids to do this is because they were facing the population shortage problem. In order for the totalitarian government to win, this action needed to be taken. Even the handmaids are confined from speech and the outside world. The only way women can get news is by watching television or resorting to the menacing underground system. It is recognized that news accessible through the media is highly censored. As Offred says: "They only show us victories, never defeats... [The male journalist] tells us what we wish to believe. He's very convincing." The media presents information in such a way that the government is shown as