Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

“When a prominent dissident was arrested in China, we would write a front-page article; when 100,000 girls were routinely kidnapped and trafficked into brothels, we didn’t even consider it news.”

Throughout Half the Sky, Kristof and WuDunn criticize their own profession. They note how the oppression of women and girls is prevalent throughout recorded human history, but few journalists report on it. Instead, journalists often devote their time to flashy events that more easily engage viewers. Such events often take place on specific days, in contrast to everyday events like the oppression of women and girls. Despite the horrifying statistics (e.g., a girl dies in India because of discrimination every four minutes), journalists are less likely to cover gender inequality. Kristof and WuDunn note how they once didn’t consider gender inequality a significant issue. As they uncovered statistics about the impact of oppression on women and girls, however, their perception began to change. Through their book, they hope to change minds all around the world and launch a movement that emancipates women and girls.

“Still in poor countries gender discrimination is often lethal in a way that it usually is not in America. In India, for example, mothers are less likely to take their daughters to be vaccinated than their sons—that alone accounts for one fifth of India’s missing females—while studies have found that, on average, girls are brought to the hospital only when they are sicker than boys taken to the hospital. All told, girls in India from one to five years of age are 50 percent more likely to die than boys from the same age. The best estimate is that a little Indian girl dies from discrimination every four minutes.”

India is a highly patriarchal society (although it has made some progress toward gender equality since the publishing of this book). Families typically prefer boys to girls, so greater care goes to boys. Data supports this point. Girls die at higher rates in India because their families don’t take them to the doctor when they’re sick or get them vaccinated.