In their new book, Half the Sky, NY Times reporter Nicholas Kristof and his wife, reporter Sheryl WuDunn expose the undervaluation of female life through various anecdotes and case studies around the world. They hold that the fight for gender equality is “the paramount moral challenge” of our era[1] and argue that releasing women’s energy is also critical to economic success.
The authors portray riveting stories of individual women who exhibit tremendous resourcefulness and persistence even in difficult circumstances. Kristof and WuDunn zero in on the problems of honor killing, forced prostitution and maternal mortality. Although most narratives feature women in Africa and South Asia, the authors acknowledge that in industrialized nations other forms of inequality are ubiquitous, such as “unequal pay or underfunded sports teams or unwanted touching from a boss.”[2] They urge readers to participate in the many initiatives working toward gender equality.
On September 6, Dateline NBC welcomed Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn to discuss the story of Mukhtar, a Pakistani woman featured in their book Half the Sky. The full Dateline segment can be viewed online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32694579#32694579.
