Public Employee Press

Book Review
Authors tell of saving the world, one woman at a time

Horrific stories about mass rape in the Congo or genital mutilation in Somalia periodically puncture our consciousness. Then we move on. But the reality of women's lives captured the hearts and minds of New York Times correspondents Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and they responded by writing "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide."

The authors say their book is about saving the world, one woman at a time. The title comes from a Chinese proverb, "Women hold up half the sky," meaning that females are an indispensable part of the human race.

The authors concentrate on three particular abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality, which still needlessly claims one woman a minute.

They note that women dying in childbirth "have never had much of a constituency." The World Health Organization's estimate that 536,000 women perished in pregnancy or childbirth in 2005 is a toll that has barely budged in 30 years. Some 99 percent of those deaths occur in poor countries.

The book goes beyond the statistics, using individual stories to explore the issues and pairing particular cases of each problem with accounts of people and organizations crafting solutions that make a difference.

In "Edna's Hospital," the authors describe how Edna Adan succeeded in building a beautiful, gleaming hospital where women in the Republic of Somaliland, located in the Horn of Africa, can give birth, have their bodies repaired, and find a refuge from fathers eager to dispose of their baby daughters.

"Half the Sky" is a compelling book, simply and beautifully written, which members can borrow from the Education Fund Library, Room 211 at DC 37, to gain an important, international perspective on the lives of women and girls in the 21st century.

—Jane LaTour