Half the Sky is a book about the oppression of women across the globe. The authors detail stories of women in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Srey Rath is a Cambodian girl who is abducted and taken to Malaysia. Rath, together with the other four girls, had been promised a well-paying job in a Thai hotel. However, the agent handed the girls to mobsters who moved them to Malaysia. In Malaysia, the girls were taken to brothels, where they were subjected to forced prostitution. As luck would have it, Rath escaped later and started a business with the help of American Assistance for Cambodia.
The authors detail stories of many women, including Prudence, an Ethiopian girl who was nearly turned away for lack of money during labor pains. The authors paid her bills, but the girl died three days after surgery because of poor facility conditions. These stories and others in the book shows cruelty inflicted regularly on females across the globe. Women are routinely subjected to domestic violence and rape and even drugged if they resist men. Indeed, they are forced to do sex with rogue men without condoms. That exposes them to STDs such as HIV/AIDS. The authors show how some cultures have normalized the practice of raping women.
The authors conclude the book by proposing measures that should be taken to prevent such vices. The livelihood of women needs to be improved s that they can be independent. Kristof and WuDunn note that conservative authorities are reluctant to fight the vice. However, they suggest that women should be supported to become social entrepreneurs. Besides, they should be educated and initiated to organizations that empower them financially.
