Book Review: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

In BeadforLife’s work in Uganda we recognize the immensely important role that women play in the developing world’s stabilization. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide describes the plight of women in developing countries as the most important moral and economic issue facing the world today.Through their journalistic research, the husband and wife team of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn provide extensive data showing the enormity of human rights abuses committed against women across Africa and Asia. Women are raped, beaten, sold into brothels, and married off as young children; they suffer genital mutilation, are denied medical attention, and are stoned to death for violating their culture’s concepts of family honor. Kristof and WuDunn humanize this data with heart wrenching, yet common, stories of women that they have met and interviewed who have experienced and overcome unimaginable abuses. One example they present is the story of a girl in Ethiopia who suffered a fistula during her first pregnancy. She made her way to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and after her treatment and recovery she assisted the surgeon. Eventually she began performing surgeries herself. Although she is still learning to read and write, she now teaches medical techniques to other surgeons.

Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

The book is not intended to simply present horrific injustices, but is a hopeful call for action. Kristof and WuDunn implore developing countries to recognize women’s contribution to economic development. The title of the book is a reference to an old Chinese proverb that says, “Women hold up half the sky.” They point out and suggest that countries such as China have rapidly developed because women became an active part of the workforce. The authors call for a more engaged awareness and help from developed countries, providing a list of groups that specialize in supporting women in developing countries.

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Half the Sky Movement

Tags: Africa, Education, Empowering Women, Half the Sky, Millennium Development Goals, Nicholas Kristof, Poverty Education, Poverty Eradication, Sheryl WuDunn, Women Making A Difference