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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 devast… More >>
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
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If you want to read about barberic torture of women, this may be for you. I thought it would contain some uplifting and motivating women’s success stories that I could read with my young daughter–a big mistake.
Rating: 1 / 5
I was deeply offended by the author’s use and I feel exploitation of the plights of poor girls/women to make political statements and frankly, to make a buck! He spoke out against 4 people in the book: George W Bush, Condalezza Rice, Ronald Reagan and generically, ‘the Pope.’ As a conservative Catholic, I take umbrage! He spewed more hatred against those 4 than against the men who gang rape 6 year old girls or the men who sell their daughters into sexual slavery.
He praised people like George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Ben Affleck. Talk about star struck. Oh, my word!
He writes in remarkably simple terms and used misleading data to back up his claims. I was able to look up data using the 2000 census to disprove many of his claims in less than 20 minutes. If he really wanted to end abuse of girls, he has to tell the truth. The truth is awful enough. He built up his numbers to try to score points and I find that alarming.
I am quite upset by this book and not for the reasons I expected to be, AT ALL! I am upset that I didn’t give the [...] that I paid for the book to CRS instead! What is CRS you may ask? It’s Catholic Relief Services, (page 60 and on page 142). At CRS 93% of the money donated goes to help the poor overseas. Interestingly, it is NOT mentioned in the “What you can do” and “Organizations Supporting Women” sections of the book. Why? Because CRS is a pro-life organization and Nick and his wife are Democrats. This means that by default they can’t support a pro-life agenda. If they really cared about women and girls, they would not politicize it.
Obviously if you are a Bush hater and are still not over it, then by all means buy this book and make Kristof a little richer. However, if you are truly concerned about the way women are treated in this world, then this is NOT the book for you. There has got to be another book out there written by someone who really cares. Anyone?
Rating: 1 / 5
I had read the reviews about how everyone seemed to LOVE this book. Having done mission work internationally for 8 years now, I thought it would be right up my alley. The thing I didn’t like was that it was slanted severely to the left. Very anti Bush, pro Obama. They talked about funding being cut by Bush for an organization that supported forced abortions in China, but also did good things in Africa for women. I agree with what he did! On the other hand, I liked that they did give credit to the Catholic Church for it’s work around the world. It seems that goes unsaid many times these days. It was more of a travel log, and I actually wished it would have gone deeper into the stories of the women and less into “numbers” that may or may not be accurate. So, I liked it but it wasn’t as good as they said it was on Oprah!
Rating: 3 / 5
I never received this book – two weeks after I ordered it I got an email saying it was no longer available. I would have thought the response regarding the book not being available would have been a bit more timely!
Rating: 1 / 5
“Half the Sky,” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn is a revelation. Most European and American residents accept and believe in gender equality – this book educates them about the sad plight of women around the world.
In many nations, such as China and India, male children are cherished so greatly that the birth of female babies is considered a great misfortune. Consequently, they are undernourished and neglected. In other parts of the world, like Africa, virtually every female child is raped. Women are second-class citizens, in spite of doing the bulk of the work to support a family. The males are absentee fathers. In some Asian countries, girls are sold into slavery and prostitution.
Religious dogma and tribal customs play important roles in subjugating women. (See the book “Religion Unplugged: Spirituality or Fanaticism?”) Universal education is the best way to overcome ancient prejudicial ways, and to improve the lot of women.
There are many organizations that aid women and promote their equality, including the United Nations womens organization, UNIFEM. The authors suggest donating to [...] or sponsoring a woman through Plan International or Women for Women International.
Rating: 4 / 5