Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era's most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and, ultimately, hope.They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate and became an expert on AIDS.Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women's potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it's also the best strategy for fighting poverty.Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen. - From the Hardcover edition.

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jelly

life-changing

November 15, 2015

Kim

I have finished this book with mixed feelings. On the one hand it brought issues to life for me that had previously only touched the edges of my conscience and never before set seed. Having read this I can't not take up the cause of fighting for women's health and education and an end to violence against women and the abolishment of the sex slave trade.

However, I got frustrated with their appearance descriptions of the women whose stories they shared. Maybe it's a writing style I'm not used to, but I felt it unnecessary to tell me that so-and-so was stocky with a round face, or had waist length dirty blonde hair. It jarred, particularly against the experiences of these women and particularly as there were photos of each one so I could see for myself the real person, not the writers' view of their appearance.

More worrying for me was the call for male circumcision. Limited searches have shown that whilst there is some evidence that it can reduce the spread of HIV, UK scientists disagree with their American counterparts in the interpretation of the limited studies that have taken place. The NHS think this may be down to cultural bias, with circumcision being popular in the US.

I loved the idea of the microloans, so instantly searched GlobalGiving and Kiva, however what I found was a sense of mis-selling in the book. From a Kiva perspective you dont actually support a pancake seller in Kabul, their loans will already have been given before their pictures and stories ever reach the site. Does that create less reason to give? It shouldn't but the appeal was to support an actual individual rather than the cause. I cant afford any of the sponsorship schemes out there so had hoped the micro loan idea might be a suitable alternative.

Anyway, just my tuppence-worth. The book is still an absolute must-read if you want to educate yourself on the issues that women face across the globe.

October 2, 2016