HALF THE SKY by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn
The Feminist Killjoy Book Club met again recently and thank you to everyone who came.
Our book was HALF THE SKY by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn, who are Pulitzer Prize winning journalists.
Everyone in the group said that they had found reading the book to be challenging, moving, inspiring and infuriating. We all recognised that the book is exceptional in laying bare the true horrors that so many women face in the world simply because of their sex but, at the same time, showing the courage and resilience of many local women who are standing up to injustice and making a difference for themselves and others.
Here are some of the issues addressed in the book:
· The dangers girls and young women face, particularly in the rural areas of many countries, of being kidnapped and sold as sex slaves. One way to combat this is keeping girls in school as long as possible.
· The challenge of cultures where women themselves have low self-esteem – Kristof & Wudunn talk about ‘a Stoic docility’ - and the need to nurture assertiveness.
· The power of education to protect women and girls. ‘One way to reduce pregnancies,’ say Kristoff and Wudunn, ‘is to subsidise school uniforms for girls.’
· The difficulties created by Westerners intervening to combat injustice – often with all the best intentions but sometimes making things worse. Kristof and Wudunn say, ‘The most effective change agents aren’t foreigners but local women (and sometimes men) who galvanise a movement.’
· Theologies that require women to remain virgins before marriage can increase risks to women because they encourage and legitimise honour killings and rapes. Promiscuity is not the problem in many situations; women often risk more from marriage and contracting AIDS from their husbands.
· Islam was quite progressive regarding women’s rights when the religion was founded, as was Christianity, but culturally it suits some men to interpret the Koran and the Bible to oppress women.
· Half a million women die every year from complications of childbirth which could easily and cheaply be avoided with basic health care, if their lives were not considered indispensable by those in power. Kristof and Wudunn say, ‘As a basic human right, women should be able to have a child safely and with good quality of care.’
· Women need greater political power if money is to be spent on their wellbeing. In some places poor men spend more on beer and prostitutes than on educating their children – which would be a way out of poverty. In situations where women hold the purse strings – through support for their businesses from micro loans, for example – everyone in their families benefits.
· Leadership for change must come from local people. Foreigners can help by encouraging and supporting these people and their projects.
Kristof and Wudunn conclude with these stirring words, ‘The tide of history is turning women from beasts of burden and sexual playthings into fully-fledged human beings. The economic advantages of empowering women are so vast as to persuade nations to move in that direction. Before long, we will consider sex slavery, honour killings, and acid attacks as unfathomable as foot binding. The question is how long that transformation will take and how many girls will be kidnapped into brothels before it is complete – and whether each of us will be part of that historical movement, or a bystander.’
Join us for the next Feminist Killjoy Book Club meeting at which we will discuss WOMEN, RACE AND CLASS by Angela Y. Davis at 7.30pm on Tuesday 17 November online here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85851969633