Half the Sky: Review

            Written by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and published in September 2009, Half the Sky is a non-fiction work which deals with the exact issue that its subtitle proclaims: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The book deals with themes of maternal mortality, the lack of education for girls, sexual violence and rape, sex trafficking, and others, arguing that each of these facets contributes to the greater systemic, legal and cultural oppression that women are unfairly likely to face in the third world. Half the Sky is gripping, detailing the travels of Kristof and WuDunn to varying developing countries to better understand on a personal level the immense struggles of women who face abduction at an early age, forced prostitution, and contraction of sexually transmitted diseases―eventually attempting to leave the brothels that trap them, only to find that stigma and illness means there is no world for them on the outside. True stories of rape make appearances in later chapters, culturally connected to the practice of honor killings. Before the turn of a hundred pages, the book also details the lives of women who suffer from death or injury during birth giving due to the lack of hospitals or adequate funding for prenatal care. When the women that find success in giving birth do so, it is often unfortunate that―without education or aid―the cycle of many of these issues simply starts anew. For me, Half the Sky represents an increasingly pertinent call to action. Though many of the solutions to the issues the book presents are found toward the end of its pages, one will find that even the power of one story alone is enough to inspire a need for change within the reader. Personally, whether out of captivation by the material or out of moral obligation to hear these stories told, I found many moments where I simply could not put the book down. Extending my deepest honesty, I would count this book as a must-read for anyone who would find themselves even remotely persuaded to action by the global injustices that befall countless women around the world.