Half The Sky Analysis

“I’m a woman…Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” This quote from Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman” characterizes the common theme between the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the speech, “Ain’t I a Woman”, by Sojourner Truth, and “Phenomenal Woman”. The common theme between these three different pieces is the idea of a strong, independent woman, which ties into feminism and the concept of being equal to men. Even though these three pieces are each diverse genres, they are all conveying the same general theme in their own way. Throughout any of these texts, it is evident that the authors are pushing the idea that a female is not inferior to any man just because they have a different body structure or a different gender.

This book is a crucial dose of reality for those of us that are spoiled by the comforts we have grown used too. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn explain in the book “Half the Sky” why empowering women in the developing world is ethically right and extremely vital.It is a gripping story of how customs and culture have historically oppressed women. The strength of the human rights movement and of actual change across all cultures is going to be asteadfast task of courageous women who give themselves permission to say no to so many years of unthinkable tyrannical cultural customs and fight for a new way of life. Many of us close our eyes

Farah Ahmedi was a girl who was desperate to escape her war-torn country of Afghanistan by crossing the border into Pakistan. Annie Johnson was a fierce woman who wanted to support her family by starting an intricate business that cooks meals for factory workers. The next mission missionary was Theodore Boone who was a 13 year old boy who wanted to prevent a bypass from being built through homes and farms, but not until his friend's farm was in the danger zone. However, all three wanted to help, whether it was them self or others.

In both “The Scarlet Iblis” and “Under a War Torn Sky” death and determination play a large part in each story. For instance, so far in “Under a War Torn Sky” Henry’s plane had been shot down by the Nazi’s and numerous people have died. Henry’s dog also died and sad part about it is that Henry had to kill him dog self because his dog got ran over and he couldn’t bear to see him in pain. This story takes place during World War II, which effected numerous of people. Some events in the story have actually happened. Also, in “The Scarlet Ibis” Doodle died because of his big brother. Death in both stories are caused by another person or force. Both of these stories relate to determination also. In “Under a War Torn Sky” Henry was determined to save

From the beginning of the book, Half the Sky, the stories of Srey Rath, the vibrant girl from Cambodia, and Meena Hasina, the courageous mother from India, and other stories like theirs have helped many people understand the tragedies taking place all over the world. Their stories have inspired the authors and many who have read their stories to dive deeper into thought about worldwide issues plaguing many countries, including the United States. The global issues surrounding women’s health in the beginning of this book include the topics of: the three types of abuses, the inaccuracy of the term “sex trafficking”, and the initiatives to stop slavery.

Farah Ahmedi was a girl who was trying to escape her war-torn country of Afghanistan by crossing the border into Pakistan. Annie Johnson was a woman who wanted to support her family by starting a business that cooks meals for factory workers. Theodore Boone was a 13 year old boy who wanted to stop a bypass from being built through homes and farms, including his friend's farm. However, all three wanted to help, whether it was them self or others.

Nobody fully understands what drives people to undertake a mission, but it often causes people to take many risks. For example, Farah Ahmedi climbed a mountain on a prosthetic leg with a sick mother just to reach freedom. Rikki-Tikki fought for his life to save his family. John Steinbeck eavesdropped on people's conversations just to get material for his book. These stories show different people who had each set a goal for themselves. Ahmedi and Rikki-Tikki fought for their lives to survive and save their loved ones. While Steinbeck traveled to great lengths to write his book. Their goals may be different but they all had set a goal and they all eventually accomplished their goal.

Women have long been fighting for their right to be seen as equal to men. Even to this day, women continue to fight for their rights, things such as the right to non-gender discriminatory wages. While there may be some arguments over the state of gender equality in the modern world, it is undeniable that there have been great strides made toward recognizing the female 's worth in the workforce and as a human being. Despite these strides, however, things are still not yet ideal for women and many of the issues females face today are the very same issues that have been plaguing them for decades. While it is unfortunate the oppression of women has been so long-lived, the length of that exposure has thankfully enabled many talented writers to both lament over the fact and emphasize the need for gender equality.

The documentary, Half the Sky Part II: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (2012), is based off of a book written by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The setting of this documentary is in three poor countries, Kenya, Somaliland, and India. This is a nonfictional documentary where maternal mortality, prostitution, and economic empowerment tend to be common constant struggles in many developing countries. Kristof and WuDunn travel with three talented celebrity activist to witness these struggles first hand and helped spread global awareness. These celebrities come face to face with three passionate women in each country who fight daily to make a difference and change women’s inequality in their countries. Women in these countries and in many other countries deal with maternal mortality, sex trafficking, violence, and discrimination threats every day. Some women do not know different and are lead to believe this is their destine while others are frightened and are begging for change. Although, these countries are on different parts of the map they have common struggles due to common causes.

In the novel, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, written by authors Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in 2009, these two call attention to the oppression of women. These authors label the incidents that occur throughout our world involving women oppression as an epidemic of our generation. The novel demonstrates the severity of sex trafficking, sexual violence, and lack of education of women that are seen amongst us. There exists many relations of opportunities concerning educational and professional studies among the women portrayed in the novel and myself. Although, related opportunities are seen, the underlying severity of what these women endure to reach those opportunities are much more challenging than mine.

Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s novel, Half the Sky, is primarily a call for social equality and freedom from oppression for women across the globe. The authors are actively taking the first step of achieving a global feminist movement by informing Westerners of the injustices are that are being done to women worldwide in the name of tradition and culture; they do this through personal stories and by exposing legal or cultural inequalities. As Cynthia Enloe (2004) writes in The Curious Feminist, “if something is accepted as “traditional”- inheritance passing through the male line…it can be

Andrea Dworkin, a prominent radical feminist, tries to explain why women fail to put themselves out from where they are: “Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge.” Women are often conditioned by different factors in their life to stay in their position, especially from societal norms and expectations of them from the men in their lives. However, over time, this could be emotionally and mentally burdensome to a woman’s state of mind, leading them to nowhere. This theme of oppression is prevalent in the feminist short stories titled “A Jury of her Peers”, written by Susan Glaspell, and “Sweat”, written by Zora Neale Hurston. In these works, Glaspell and Hurston elaborate on how powerful female protagonists are able to decide for themselves, but explain their mentally-taxing processes and reasons in accomplishing such a feat. In these short stories, women are able to rise over oppression, but primarily to overcome a grief or insecurity that stems from within and after being pushed to their limits and accustomed to their roles by men.

Sojourner Truth’s words in her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” served as an anthem for women everywhere during her time. Truth struggled with not only racial injustice but also gender inequality that made her less than a person, and second to men in society. In her speech, she warned men of “the upside down” world against the power of women where “together, [women] ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” Today, America proudly stands thinking that Truth’s uneasiness of gender inequality was put to rest. Oppression for women, however, continues to exist American literature has successfully captured and exposed shifts in attitude towards women and their roles throughout American history.

The novel Anthem illustrates women in an inferior light, demeaning their importance and value to the world. Ayn Rand creates woman as a creature to lick the dust from the soles of man’s feet, and to endure anything he

The concept of women’s rights is a statement that I hear everywhere in the world, but I had never see it in every women’s life. In my vision, today’s women are separated because of their ethnicity, and are not equal to each other. Therefore, Colonize This! is a book that I believe can help me to know how can every woman gets her rights. Also, this book can help everyone to recognize and see how women are still struggling to get their rights. There are four sections of Colonize This! that impacted me. These sections are called, “Our Mother, Refugees from a World on Fire, Going Through Customs, Family and Community: A Litany for Survival,” and “Talking Back, Taking Back.”