Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:01:00 +0000

In Half the Sky, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn lay out a powerful argument about the importance of development work paying heed to gender. Since both Kristoff and WuDunn are well-known and respected journalists, this book will undoubtedly be widely read and influence policy and practice. Skillfully composed of narratives of women’s plight and resistance in Africa and Asia, the authors incorporate scientific and policy research to support their argument. They attempt to outline some of the most significant ways in which women’s oppression plays out; through sex slavery, inadequate maternal health care, rape, and lack of education. The book is obviously a labor of love, and the couple draws their first person narratives from their travels around the globe to bear witness to these situations.

Kristof and WuDunn deal respectfully with issues of cultural relativity, including an insightful and knowledgeable chapter on Islam and its relationship to sexism and women, but they fall short of thoroughly addressing issues of power and privilege in their own relationships to the issues. While they allude several times to critiques of cultural imperialism—mentioning women who have challenged them on their presence and role in the struggles of women from the variety of countries included here—they never seem to delve into the matter deeply, offering blanket statements about morality that are supposed to supersede these critiques.

The authors pay lip service to the leadership of the women most affected by the issues at hand; they also write with a clear intention of encouraging involvement of affluent Americans of all genders through philanthropic and missionary projects. Without passing judgment on these sorts of interventions, what was missing in their analysis was a clear role for the history of colonization and neoliberalism in shaping the relationships between the US and Africa and Asia.

This book will undoubtedly serve as a call to arms to take more seriously the issues facing poor women in Africa and Asia. My only worry is that in ignoring the role of colonialism and capitalism in shaping these problems, the solutions offered will fall short. In one of the final chapters, the authors defend sweatshops from liberal critiques, arguing that because garment work employs women and elevates their economic status above men’s, they can only be a good thing. While sweatshops may, in fact, provide an important source of income for women in impoverished countries, I find their blindness to the ethical and moral implications of such labor practices in contradiction with their righteous stances against sex slavery and other abhorrent practices.

All in all, Half the Sky is an educational and accessible read. The authors have clearly done their research and present an arsenal of knowledge and narrative that supports their call to action. In the midst of economic crisis, while we bear witness to the collapse of American capitalism, I hesitate to endorse a strategy of empowerment for women in “developing countries” that is a path to the same. Perhaps other readers will be inspired to find more creative solutions than the ones offered by the authors.

Written by: Katrina Forman, January 7th 2010

New York Times 'Half The Sky' Issue

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:42:00 +0000

Edited by Nicholas Kristof

New York Times

In July, I wrote a post about Nicholas D. Kristof's announcing a "special issue" of the New York Times Sunday Magazine that would cover women in the developing world. Well, that issue is now available online, and will be arriving to the doorsteps of NYT subscribers in a few days. While this issue would have felt more authentic had the Times solicited pieces written by women from the Majority World, there is still much to be gleaned from this weekend's glossy.

As I anticipated it would be, the artwork is fantastic. In "A Powerful Truth," a five-minute audio slideshow, Kristof briefly tells the stories of six women--Saima Muhammad, Goretti Nyabenda, Claudine Mukakarisa, Edna Adan, and Abbas Be--while Katy Grannan's photos supplement the words by geographically gliding one homeland to the next: Pakistan, Burundi, Rwanda, Somaliland, and India. Saima's and Abbas' stories are further detailed in "The Women’s Crusade," which explores the myriad challenges women face around the globe; examines the positive role microfinance, foreign aid, US policy, and NGOs play on bettering women's individual conditions; and positions women's collective empowerment squarely at the center of solving global ills--including human rights violations, poverty, war, heath crises, and modern day slavery.

Another feature piece is "A New Gender Agenda," in which Mark Landler interviews Hillary Clinton on which foreign policy issues will be prioritized in the Obama administration. While some of the questions Landler asks are bold, and he should be applauded for having asked them, Clinton consistently sidesteps, leaving much to be desired. "A School Bus for Shamsia"is a feel-good piece with many moments that don't feel so great. At its core, it's about the progress of girls' education in Afghanistan, and one journalist's accidental transformation into an activist. Despite acid attacks and other forms of intimidation, the girls who attend Mirwais Mena School in Kandahar are determined to complete their studies--even if it results in their death.

On the topic of girls' death, "The Daughter Deficit" outlines the cultural factors behind daughter deaths and sex-selective abortions in India and China--an ironical twist to how increasing development can backfire if not coupled with an increase in women's status. Some of you may remember Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from her appearance on The Daily Show a few months ago. In "Madame President", Deborah Solomon speaks to the only female head of state in Africa in what, ultimately and unfortunately, is a lackluster interview.

"The Feminist Hawks" is one of the more interesting articles here, as it deconstructs the use of feminist rhetoric ("women's empowerment") as it is applied by conservative "hawks" (or those who gun for military intervention), particularly with respect to the post-9/11 paternalistic focus on Muslim women's rights (a la "to hijab or not hijab"). Writer Virginia Heffernan further complicates this discussion by considering the effect the Internet has on disseminating and manipulating the message.

In addition to the content, this issue has two "Half the Sky" contests for artists and activists: 1) photographers can submit pictures that exemplify the theme of women and girls' empowerment and 2) those with personal stories regarding work done to empower women and girls (in the US and abroad) can post a comment on the contest's page. Winners chosen will receive a signed copy of Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's newly published book called, as you might have guessed, Half the Sky.

Perhaps the most important parts of this issue are the "Do-It-Yourself Foreign Aid" and "Organizations Supporting Women in Developing Countries" pieces, accompanied by Lisa Belkin's explanation of gendered giving in "The Power of the Purse." Audre Lorde wrote, "The essence of a truly global feminism is the recognition of connection." The struggles of women around the globe are the struggles of women everywhere; as women in the Western world and women of means in the Global South, we must find a way to wield the privilege we possess in order to dismantle systems of oppression which keep other women's needs from being met. Problems are not monolithic, and neither are solutions. The only thing that is not an option is failing to act.

Cross-posted to Bitch Magazine's On the Map blog

Written by: Mandy Van Deven, August 20th 2009