Half the Sky

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Adult Nonfiction

This is the kind of book that makes you stop every few sentences and turn to the nearest person and say, "Did you know that...?"

An incredibly informative and easy-to-read book about three broad areas integral to women's well-being. These topics include sex trafficking, women's health and women's education--discussed on a global scale.

Kristof and WuDunn take every opportunity to tell personal stories, an effective strategy which serves to sustain interest in the topic being discussed and also to elicit a reaction in the reader. Kristof and WuDunn select personal stories which are primarily stories of women changing their situations, either independently or with help, and thus empowering others around them. The reader in turn is inspired and hopefully called to action.

A powerful read--I highly recommend this title. It is simultaneously a written record of women overcoming incredible obstacles to effect lasting change and also a global wake-up call--we have so far to go.

One thing that I really appreciate is that Kristof and WuDunn don't shy away from difficult topics. They write about various foreign aid disasters and discuss why certain programs are successful and others aren't. They have a chapter titled, "Is Islam Misogynistic?" This is certainly a thorny topic that many would shy away from. But in the hands of Kristof and WuDunn, it is discussed openly and thoughtfully. Additionally, the title of their book "Half the Sky" is taken from quote by Mao. He stated, "Women hold up half the sky." Indeed they do, but it is certainly an interesting choice to use a quote from Mao, a controversial historical figure to say the least, as a title for a best-selling book. Again, with Kristof and WuDunn's trademark tact and honesty, they discuss the brutality of the Cultural Revolution in China, without throwing out the baby with the bathwater.


I will leave you with a few, "Did you know that...?"

*Did you know that approximately 600,00 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international boarders each year--with 80 % of them being women or girls for sexual exploitation? (This doesn't include millions of other sexual victims who are exploited within their own country's borders.) During the peak of the transatlantic slave trade (1780s) the yearly average was just under 80,000. (p.10)

*Did you know that 536,000 women perished in childbirth in 2005? Ireland is the safest place in the world to give birth--the MMR (maternal mortality rate) is 1 per 100,000 live births. In the United States the MMR is 11. Sierra Leone has the highest MMR in the world--2,100." (p.98)

*Did you know that 1/3 of the reported rapes in South Africa are girls, under the age of 15, by their teachers? (p.182)

While this book could be interpreted as a really depressing account of how far we have to go to improve the lives of women and girls throughout the world, it also manages to be positive and hopeful. Good work is being done by good people.