Customer Reviews

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Vintage)

5 star:		(202)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was able to read most of an advance copy of this book before Bill Drayton (founder of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) snatched it away and ran off with it on his annual 2-week hiking trip to the mountains.

I think this has to be the most important book - not just for women's rights globally but for human rights - published in my memory.

Kristof and WuDunn weave together a most compelling story of how culture and customs historically suppress women. They tackle many tough, taboo topics - for example honor killing. But more importantly, they champion the stories of heroic women worldwide wholly committed to changing the many evils of the status quo.

What is more, they posit a kind of general framework theory that the really important advances in human rights that are going to be made in the near future are going to be brought about by these entrepreneurial pioneering women. In essence, that the backbone of the human rights movement and of real change across all societies is going to be a direct function of brave women who give themselves permission to say "NO" to thousands of years of (to most Westerners) unimaginable oppressive cultural customs and who take it upon themselves to lead to a new way. Once you have read the book, it is very hard, if not impossible, to disagree with Kristof and WuDunn's general theme. To wit, the brave women of Iran who took to the streets to protest the results of the recent election.

Among many other "super" women, HALF THE SKY spotlights the following inspirational Ashoka Fellows:

· Sunitha Krishnan (India), founder of Prajwala, a citizen sector organization in Hyderabad, India, fighting forced prostitution and sex trafficking, rescuing women and children from sexual exploitation, incestual rape, sexual torture, and abuse in prostitution. Her organization helps former prostitutes learn vocational skills so they can move into new careers. "Prajwala" means "an eternal flame".

· Sakena Yacoobi (Afghanistan), founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning, a citizen sector organization providing teacher training to Afghan women, educating and fostering education for girls and boys, and providing health education to women and children. Her organization also runs fixed and mobile health clinics that provide family planning services. Sakena holds the distinction of having been Ashoka's first Afghan Fellow. Educating women and girls was banned under the Taliban and is controversial under Islamic law.

· Roshaneh Zafar (Pakistan), founder of Pakistani microfinance lender, Kashf. A former World Bank employee, she was inspired after a chance meeting with Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. "Kashf" means "miracle" and Kashf is indeed fostering a miracle by leveraging microfinance to women to transform the role of women in Pakistani society and bringing about a poverty-free world. To date, Kashf supports 305,038 families in Pakistan, has disbursed $202 million, and has 52 branches nationwide.

I am not alone in my enthusiasm for this book! Last Tuesday, September 15, 2009 from 1:15 pm to 2:45 pm, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ("UNODC") will be hosting a panel discussion and booksigning with Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn in the UN Trusteeship Council Chamber at UN Headquarters. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will deliver opening remarks. Every seat (550) in the Trusteeship Council Chamber was filled.

The buzz out there is that many people are coming and that everyone is very excited about the publication and significance of this extraordinary milestone work.

Five out of five stars. An absolute must read for anyone who cares about women's rights or human rights. A genuine eye popper that moves so fast, tackles so much that has hitherto been taboo and unmovable, and interweaves the unbelievably positive stories of the very heroic women already leading and creating change in a tapestry that is glimpse of a brave and very different, humanitarian new world.

Once you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down. And once you have read it, you will be moved to help bring about tomorrow. Absolute proof that the glass (or the sky) is half full. We just have to give ourselves permission to make change. Or as Gandhi said, "we must be the change we wish to see."

BUY IT. READ IT. PASS IT AROUND.

This may be one of the most important books I have ever read. I heard Mr. Kristof on the radio and the title caught my attention. After the first page, the book caught my heart. This is such a well researched and well written book that I could not put it down. We all realize that women the world over face challenges that women in the US never have to face. Prepare to have your eyes opened when you open this book. I dare you not to be moved, and I dare you to do nothing after reading it. The women who share their stories here are some of the most courageous and strongest women ever, and they are changing their world for the better.

When I read an advance copy of this book, I was so stunned that I contacted the authors and told them I wanted to do whatever I could to help get the word out. It is a compelling and important work -filled with riveting anecdotes and a powerful, optimistic message about the opportunity we all have to support a movement that has the power to transform lives around the world. Read the book, and then go to [...] to learn more about how Lifting Women Lifts the World.

I believe in book's main premise: by empowering women and girls, we can change the world and help end poverty. However, I found it disappointing and shocking to read this entire book and not find a single story about water and sanitation. You can't even find the word "water" in the index.

No doubt, the stories Nick and Sheryl tell are horrific and inspiring, and women living in poverty face obstacles that I can't even imagine. But, as I read it, I felt it was more of a collection of anecdotes from Nick and Sheryl's international travels rather than as advertised: a "must-read" and "call to arms" about how we can end global poverty.

Having spent 19 years working in international aid, I don't see how you can seriously talk about helping women in poverty and not mention water or sanitation. For millions of girls from poor households, there is a straight tradeoff between time spent in school and time spent collecting water. For their mothers, time spent collecting water means they have little time for more productive work or rest.

Being without access to water means that to obtain the water they need to survive, people resort to ditches, rivers and lakes polluted with human or animal excrement, and they carry that water home on their heads or backs, causing chronic back pains and sores, wearing flip flops if they are wearing shoes at all, walking uphill on steep, rocky or muddy paths. This daily walk for water saps their energy, diminishes their health status, and prevents them from participating in economic and social activities that are vital to the development of communities.

Each day,
* Women spend the equivalent of 340 million work days on water collection
* Poor families spend $137 million is spent on treatment of water-related diseases
* 5 million girls are collecting water instead of attending school
* 7,000 children worldwide die from the lack of safe water and a toilet
Poverty and water are inextricably linked.

What began as a hopeful read has unfortunately left me jaded and wondering if providing PVC piping and septic tanks just don't have the emotional appeal and book-selling potential of sex slavery and genital mutilation.

So I'm in! Let's invest in women. I believe it will pay off. But we have to be smart about it. I've met too many girls who dropped out of school at the age of 6 to help their mothers carry water, so it makes no sense to me to invest in education in a community with no toilets or accessible, safe water supplies. It makes no sense to me to build a health clinic of any kind in a community without toilets or water either, because 80% of the illnesses that will come into that clinic will be caused by the lack of water and toilets. I'm also a believer in micro-lending, but I've met a lot of people who have defaulted on their loans in order to pay medical bills for a family member suffering from diarrhea.

I'm excited that people are talking about women and development. But I'm disappointed at this missed opportunity to talk about the vital links between water and sanitation and poverty and empowerment. We need to act appropriately to ensure that the lack of attention to water and sanitation does not undermine all other development goals.

This book is an essential dose of reality for those of us that are lost in the comfort of our own lives. It not only informs, it also motivates us to do something about an ancient and pervasive global problem. The story of individuals whose strength and will enabled them to overcome their dire circumstances,and the accomplishments of rescuers who were equipped with compassion and drive created narratives so compelling and moving that it will mobilize anyone for the cause - unless of course if your heart is truly made of stone. I also find it helpful that the book mentioned various organizations and hospitals that are heavily involved with helping women in oppression. This information makes it easy for anyone to donate or help out if he/she wants to. On a personal note, reading the stories of some of these truly strong individuals inspired me to make the most of the opportunities I have in front of me. Not only that I should be thankful for all that I have, but BECAUSE I can, I now have a responsibility to do what I can to help. It is still difficult for me to believe that a lot of these incidents can happen in this day and age, and that people suffered this much while we go about our day worrying who won the latest sporting events or what the latest fashion trend is. (I'm not against either sports or fashion, but it really puts life in perspective!)

In summary, the book has the pattern of telling us a story of a suffering individual with no way out on their own, then the story of one who was willing to take action to help .... and that has made all the difference. (well not every story is a success story... but that's reality too) The stories are real, the people are real, the problems are real. It is heart breaking to see how vast and cruel the problems are - but there is hope. We can be part of that hope, when we are willing to see and do something about it as well. Start by reading this book... it really will change your world, it changed mine.

Albeit I am attuned to current events, I have not known the extent of the atrocities, committed against females in many Asian and African countries, as narrated in Half the Sky. The authors, Nicolas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn, have tirelessly documented episodes of human suffering. They describe the enslavement of young girls and women in brothels, genital mutilation, gang-rapping, honor killing and other deprivations. Women, especially those of lower socioeconomic status, lack essential medical care and have no idea about the existence of birth control availability. It is surprising to me to learn how many people are being repressed because of their gender. The Chinese proverb that states "women hold up half the sky" makes as much sense to me as Hitler's assertion that women fit only for housekeepers and breeders. I could never find a logical explanation why the German forbade me to attend school and I am saddened to learn that so many young girls nowadays are being deprived of basic education.

I had been repressed and oppressed during the German occupation of Poland 1939-1945. As a teenager, I had seen the worst that man can do. I saw the Germans looting, expropriating, beating, torturing, shooting, hanging, burning alive, babies choked or smashed to death, starving and other unimaginable acts of extreme wickedness carried out against innocent people. I witnessed and experienced enslavement in enforced labor and concentration camps.

The most decent and compassionate person in my life was my stepmother, a female. The German who risked her life for me, thirty times, was a female. After the liberation from concentration camps, the first person who had offered me shelter was a German female. Although there were some vicious German female guards in Auschwitz, and in other concentration camps, most German women were less inclined to savagery than men. Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and Pol Pot, the most infamous dictators, in recent history, who had caused the death of tens of millions, were all males. When women are mistreated, men are intrinsically adversely affected. When women, who are the half of the population, are marginalized it affects adversely the entire population.

Kristof and WuDunn deserve our gratitude for sharing their observations and personal interviews with so many affected victims and their benefactors. The authors bring to light the devastating problems facing millions of girls and women, but simultaneously with suggestive practical solutions to those problems. Education could bring emancipation for all women. The U.S. allocates $1 billion for every 1,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan. I am not sure that such additional expenses will grand us more security here in the U.S. and/or bring more democracy to the Afghan people. I am however convinced that $1 billion invested in providing education to thousands of Afghan or Pakistan children and adults about health, hygiene, human rights, women and girls' rights, will eventually diminish sex trafficking, and the affliction of female genitals cutting. Women will enrich the countries where they live and contribute to create a better world for the beneficiaries and benefactors alike. Roshaneh Zafars, an educated Pakistani woman, says (page 191)"if I were prime minister for a day, I would put all our resources in education"

The authors lead us to pay attention to things that are disgusting. Readers are exhorted to get involved, to help financially and otherwise to put an end to the abuse of women wherever it still prevails. The authors deserve our recognition for their dedication to human rights, especially women rights. Half The Sky is an excellent literary work to enlighten all of us. The reader will be inspired and motivated to reach out to women born in countries not of their choice. It is a reference book how to help oppressed women via accountably charitable organizations. Let women's creative potential ripen!
Alter Wiener, author "From a Name to A Number"

This book was incredibly moving and I plan on taking some of the actions suggested in the book to do what I can to help women in developing countries. I thought the book was very informative about how elevation of women's status brings about economic growth and stability, among other things, but I don't think there was one mention the entire book about educating boys to be less sexist and misogynistic. Perhaps we would need to rewrite all of the history books and religious texts to get them to see that women aren't the evil temptresses/whores/madonnas they've grown up to believe them to be, but I think it would be worth mentioning a little something about how to perhaps impress upon the perpetrators their own need for education, and in turn, get them to see the world through a less sexist lens.

In any case, this book will continue to leave a lasting impression on me.

By telling stories of individuals inter-mixed with statistics, sociology and history, the oppression of women thru out the world is turned into a story that anyone can relate to. Half the Sky was well written, well researched, and informative. the most powerful message of the book is how the influence of one individual to make a difference to an entire community. The best recommendation I can give is that I purchased 3 other copies of this book to give to my daughter, sister and a friend.

I first saw the authors on the Oprah show and was impressed and intrigued. This is a life changing book and it's both easy and hard to read. It's easy in that it's intelligently and thoughtfully done. It's hard because life for women in most of the world is so awful. You can know that intellectually, but reading the specific stories and realizing the day-to-day life horrors for so many is heartbreaking. The greatest thing about this book is that the authors give the reader the tools to DO something and make a difference. Charities and organizations that they themselves have seen on the ground in many places DOING good work and helping.

Again, this book is hard to read...I had to stop midway through (it was about 3AM) and I sat and cried for a good hour. As a female, I really realized (I already KIND of knew this) that to be born in the USA makes you LITERALLY one of the luckiest women on earth. We have so much here and we have so much to do elsewhere. This book illustrates how this is truly a human rights tragedy, how we ALL can do something about it and we must use our voices and resources to help. It's our job to help. This book definitely wakes you up, makes you present and calls you to action. There's no way you can read it and go back to normal. I plan on giving this to all of the strong women I know. Excellent, important book.

This book blew my mind wide open, and put me into high gear to work to facilitate change so that women will not have to endure such violence and oppression for another century! I bought one for my sister, and her 17 year old daughter read the whole book and was amazed and impressed with its message. I bought it for my Goddaughter, and she is ready to go volunteer in the third world! As for myself, it helped me realized that the rural area I live in is dominated by patriarchy, and that women of color are often treated like slaves and/or whores by the men around here, and most white women are just placated and ignored. It brought out the underlying rage I have deep inside from what we have endured as women, and turned that rage into fuel for action, for making the world a better place for ALL of us, women and men!!!