Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: Social Entrepreneurs Surfacing the True Injustice Behind Oppression of Women

I am an American female college student. I have aspirations to a professional career and reasonable prospects for a secure future. My status as an equal citizen is legally protected and, as a person, I feel I am valued by my society. I do not count myself as being disadvantaged just because I was born a woman. This is not the case, however, for millions of women in countries and cultures that exploit and abuse women, condone rape and violence against them, and deny them basic civil rights.  Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn tackle the oppression of women around the world in their seminal book, Half the Sky. This title comes from the Chinese proverb that women hold up “half the sky,” and so conveys the book’s thesis: we should remember women are half of our population and that empowering them releases tremendous untapped resources for economic and social progress. 

Kristof and WuDunn

 In 1990, soon after covering the Tiananmen Square protests, spouses Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn learned that 39,000 baby girls are killed in China each year because they are denied the same amount of food and healthcare as their male counterparts. A number of years later, while writing a piece on child prostitution, Nicholas Kristof spoke to two Cambodian girls who were sold into brothels (one by her stepfather, the other kidnapped). Their mothers had come and gone, having no money to buy them back. They were sexually coerced and beaten daily.  Kristof was dismayed to see that, even as young as they were, there was no hope in their eyes. He was deeply moved and, with his wife, resolved to bring attention to the oppression of women around the world.  Sheryl WuDunn, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist herself, was eager to begin writing. Her own Chinese Grandmother had her feet bound to make them small. This was a painful process done in China that involved breaking a woman’s foot and forcing the toes to curl under and bind to the sole. The more perfectly a women’s foot was bound, the more eminent a wife she would be. (Chinese Foot Binding) WuDunn was a success story in herself, and wanted other women to have the opportunity to succeed as she did.

While Nicholas Kristof did not have the same family history as his wife, his previous journalism experiences left him with an obligation to heighten awareness. Their book, published in 2009, a national best seller, describes instances of sex trafficking, gender based violence, maternal morbidity, honor killings and mass rape—all bound by the central theme of gender inequality. Just as slavery and totalitarianism were core human rights problems in the past, the oppression of women today is a moral wrong and demands the world’s attention. Attention is exactly what the authors got. Little did either writer know, they would do much more than sell books—they would become social entrepreneurs. What I mean by this is that Kristof and WuDunn became spokesmen for the oppression of women. Their resume included personal experiences, empirical data, and an agenda for change. They were a triple threat – on a mission to put these issues in the public’s face – making awareness impossible to ignore.

Melinda Gates states, “The stories that Kristof and WuDunn share are as powerful as they are heartbreaking.” (Melinda Gates on Half the Sky) The authors describe the scope of the problem as follows: “More girls were killed in the last 50 years, precisely because they were girls, than men killed in all the wars in the 20th century. More girls are killed in this routine gendercide in any one decade than people were slaughtered in all the genocides of the 20th century.” (Half the Sky, Intro)  This loaded statement isn’t a superficial attempt to get the reader’s attention, it is the bare facts – and the facts are enough to blow anyone’s mind. Speaking to individual circumstances, one of the stories in Half the Sky is about a Pakistani woman who refused to have an arranged marriage. When her brothers found out about this, “they bickered over whether they should kill her or just sell her to a brothel.” (Half the Sky, p.150) Just from these few quotes, we can see Kristof and WuDunn’s brilliance of combining data and anecdotes. Although the statistics of women’s oppression sells the message on it’s own, the authors appeal to pathos through story-telling, bringing us into the world of a suffering woman – after all, that is what inspired the journalists themselves to begin writing.

Moreover is the point that if we empower these women, not only will they be valued, they are likely to go on and create businesses. Hence the subtitle of the book, “Turning Oppression Into Opportunity.” When a woman is given the chance to be educated, and goes on to get a loan, research shows that that investment will produce higher returns than the same investment with her male counterpart. With scarce resources, females invest money more wisely than men.  Further, in a world where billions are being spent on security, experts say the best way to fight terrorism is to invest in girls. (Sheryl WuDunn on Colbert) This investment, the journalists claim, begins with education. Education not only improves intelligence, it teaches self-worth. Also, Kristof and WuDunn claim, “Microfinance has done more to bolster the status of women, and to protect them from abuse, than any laws could accomplish. Capitalism, it turns out, can achieve what charity and good intentions sometimes cannot. (Half the Sky, p. 187) If we can’t fiscally support these women, helping them fight for the opportunity to succeed may be enough.

 The combination of Kristof and WuDunn’s individual strengths makes the message of the book all the more powerful; it also models the creative collaboration that they say will improve the lives of women. Nicholas Kristof is an Op-Ed writer who focuses on societal injustices. One of Kristof’s intellectual influences is Victor Zorza, a journalist for The Guardian who is respected for his narrative-like writings on the Soviet Union. (Victor Zorza) Zorza has inspired Kristof with his anecdotal writing—which happens to be the writing style used in Half the Sky. Kristof at his best is a storyteller. His individual vignettes of oppressed woman, and stories of triumph over adversity bring an empathetic tone to Half the Sky.  He exposes the issues through individual narratives. After doing research, Nicholas Kristof said, “It turns out that empathy and moral judgments are an emotional process, not a rational one. They're based on storytelling, and people want to be a part of something positive, not something depressing and failed.” (Interview with Kristof and WuDunn on Book) Sheryl Wudunn writes about female entrepreneurs and was a journalist for the New York Times. Her contribution to the partnership was to bear the facts and figures, the statistics and a sense of relatability, being a third generation Chinese American female. WuDunn’s hefty economic background introduces hopeful data suggesting that we can turn both the lives of women and the global economy around.

Half the Sky

The book is not merely an expose of oppression in the developing world, but a call to action. Kristof and WuDunn use staggering statistics of oppression and boldly equate female injustice to slavery and totalitarianism. While they speak of creating female economic entrepreneurs, they themselves have become social entrepreneurs; sharing with us how we can invest in their enterprise. They call upon us to become involved, going so far as to provide links to donation sites, and creating their own website titled: http://www.halftheskymovement.org/.  Here is where you and I can directly contribute to the cause. With over fifteen charities listed, the general public is able to donate at the click of a button. And for those who are not in the position to give money, there are tabs to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Social media has become a major portal for information. By advocating for help on these social media websites, the cause can become widespread, just as it has happened with movements like Kony 2012.

However, asking Americans to help these invisible women overseas has, undoubtedly, brought controversy. While we live in a secular nation, much of the world relies heavily on religion. When there is a divide in fundamental beliefs, people are less inclined to join together. Kristof and WuDunn claim that if the two can come together and fight against oppression, we would be “emulating an era when liberal deists and conservative evangelicals joined forces to overthrow slavery.” (Changing Lives, NY Times Article) According to the couple, helping oppressed women must be a universal effort. It is not something that can be done by one person, one group, or one nation. However, when there are so many different views on the world, there will be different views on the process of change. Will we help the women by building places of faith? Will we help by investing in job creation? A rift in belief systems is a very possible problem and Kristof and WuDunn don’t have a plan of action.  

Another charge was that Kristof and WuDunn “prize pragmatism over an analysis of power, simple stories over complex narratives, and motivating an ‘every women’ reader over pointing out hypocrisies, inconsistencies, and challenges of Western based activism for global uplift.” (Equal Writes Book Review) While using narratives appeals to the reader, it is fair to say that it shows more of a simplistic example. Kristof and WuDunn should have given just as much attention to the statistics for success just as they did for oppression. It can be criticized that they relied too heavily on data regarding the negative aspects and relied too heavily on anecdotes for the positive aspects. Another point is that foreign activism can only go so far. This limitation seems to be over looked in Half the Sky. It is even argued that foreign activism can be counterproductive. If someone’s home country isn’t devoted to righting a moral wrong, the process will not get anywhere, and governments will become angry at foreign nations for trying to impose change.

Still, Kristof and WuDunn fight back to say that empowering and educating women is universally beneficial. By helping women, we are helping the global economy. The journalists will not be satisfied with Americans putting on a T-shirt reading “Women’s Equality” – claiming to join the movement. They expect donation and time, because with donation and time, a real difference is possible. Since, as a college student, I don’t have two pennies to rub together, I have taken advantage of my Facebook and Twitter page. These two people have really moved me to want to help – however, I’m not exactly in the position to contribute money. For the more established population, donate when you can, share Half the Sky with colleagues, and spread the word. Two people can’t make a change, but the world can. Helping Kristof and WuDunn get the word out is the first step to helping these women.

John Lennon’s song “Woman,” though written as a romantic testimony to one woman, captures something of the emotional heart of Half the Sky:

Woman, I can hardly express
My mixed emotions and my thoughtlessness
After all, I'm forever in your debt
And woman, I will try to express my inner feelings and thankfulness
For showing me the meaning of success

We should feel not only upset for how women fare around the world, but grateful for what they can contribute to the well being of the world, if only we globally treat them as fully equal members of the human race in every country. Our nation is aware of women’s potential. Our nation is aware of women’s rights. Our nation is aware of female injustice in developing countries. And, our nation needs to be nudged to do more – we can socially, politically, intellectually, and economically afford it. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have devoted much of their time to righting this wrong. They have been able to bring momentous awareness to an urgent issue. Now it is up to us to (1) donate when possible, (2) advocate for more government aid, and (3) take advantage of social media outlets as a way to promote gender equality. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have proven to be extraordinary individuals. In a society where it is so easy to sit back, they did more – now it’s our turn.

References Other Than Internet

Kristof, Nicholas, and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2009. Print.