Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Author: Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Genre: Nonfiction, Social Justice

Publication Date: 2009

Introduction

In Half the Sky, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn relate girls’ and women’s stories of the different types of oppression and abuse they suffer—as well as how these brave and determined women and girls find ways to empower themselves within their male-dominated societies. The authors support the individual narratives with statistics that show how widespread the various forms of oppression and gender inequality are in many developing nations. The book focuses on three areas: sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; gender-based violence, including “honor killings”; and maternal mortality. All are forms of oppression as well as barriers to gender equality for millions of girls and women in the developing world.