Name: _______________________ Date:

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Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide Book Guide
1. "It appears that more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they
were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century" (p. xvii). Why is
the dire state of women in impoverished cultures, as set out by the authors in the
introduction, also a great opportunity for them?
A lot of women are killed and forced in to prostitution these days but others get in
prostitution voluntarily.
The ones who voluntarily get in see this as an opportunity. Poverty many times forces
them which is why they see it as an opportunity. They see no other way out. Money
doesnt define happiness it may sometimes be hard to get through life without money but
its not impossible but some people see it as a good opportunity where they dont put any
effort to earn money.

2. "The modern global slave trade is larger in absolute terms than the Atlantic slave trade in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries" (p. 11). Given the scale of the problem, what do
Kristof and WuDunn suggest as reasonable efforts towards ending human trafficking?
The security in countries should be enforced, polices should pay more attention to whats
going on aroun the world, cameras would also be a good way of helping the number of
people forced in to human trafficking decrease, there should also be campaigns supporting
this idea.

3. What do the stories about Srey Momm and Srey Neth indicate about the complexities of
the trafficking problem in places like Thailand and Cambodia? Why do Kristof and WuDunn
say "it's most productive to focus efforts on prevention and putting brothels out of
business" (p. 45)?
That means that they should increase security and ways of helping people to not get involved
in that instead of making them stop because they wont stop anyways because for most they
get involved in that because they have no other choice and they follow what theyre family
follows.

4. What difficulties do "the new abolitionists," like Sunitha Krishnan and Abbas Be, face in
trying to shut down the brothel trade? How does Sunitha's story highlight the kind of
bravery required to save women from enslavement in brothels?
I feel like if we want to make a difference nothing should stop us. We should always stand up
for what we believe. People think that only man can make a difference but its a good thing
that she stood up for what she believed because it proves otherwise.
5. The judge in the rape and kidnapping case of Woineshet, in Ethiopia, disapproved of the
fact that this young girl was insisting on prosecuting her rapist: "He wants to marry you.
Why are you refusing?" (p. 65). How is this story emblematic of the much larger problem
of "tradition" in countries like Ethiopia?
Its a problem because theyre not thinking of the kids happiness, the person might have
all the money in the world but not be happy and even if its a tradition it wont change the
fact that the kids arent happy.

6. Kristof and WuDunn argue that "universities should make it a requirement that all
graduates spend at least some time in the developing world" (p. 88), and that "time spent
in Congo and Cambodia might not be as pleasant as in Paris, but it will be life-changing"
(p. 89). Do you agree that young Americans should be required to widen their knowledge
by direct experience? How might such a requirement change the lives of young Americans,
and their view of poverty and privilege?

Yes I do think it should be a requirement. People now days are corrupted and only think about
themselves not caring how other people live around the world, we tend to not appreciate
what we have and complain about everything when people in other parts of the world have
less than half of the things we have and theyre happy.

7. How does the story of Prudence Lemokouno illustrate the dangers of pregnancy and
delivery in the developing world (pp. 10913)? Does it seem an obvious and desirable
principle that reproductive health should be considered an international human rights
issue, as argued by Dr. Allan Rosenfield (p. 122)? What does the example of Sri Lanka
prove about the possibilities of reducing women's mortality rates in childbirth?

Usually people who dont have money tend to give birth in an unprotected way. I do think
that reproductive health should be considered and international humans right issues. If Sri
Lanka could do it in an unprotected way, woman that have more opportunities should take
advantage of them.

8. Muslim nations are among those in which women are most severely disadvantaged; so the
authors directly address the question of whether Islam is misogynistic (p. 150). What do
they conclude? What are the best ways to address the frustrations of women like Ellaha,
who feel trapped in conservative Muslim cultures where women are at the mercy of their
male relatives (pp. 15657)? Is religion part of the reason for the oppression of women? Is
it part of the solution?
Religion can be oppressing in moments like this but it can also be your refugee and your
help when you feel like you cant keep going in life no more. In this case the religion
 wasnt a good thing because instead of finding a refugee they found corruption by how
men acted/treated them.

9. The authors present a great deal of information about the troubles surrounding the
education of girls. Discuss the thorny problems raised in chapter ten, "Investing in
Education" (pp. 16778), and the ways that Ann Cotton has succeeded in addressing many
of them with her Camfed project in Zimbabwe (pp. 17983).
Education is one of the best way where money can be invested. Money will never be
wasted in education because theres always at least little parts of the lesson stuck in your
head. Everything we learn is going to be used in the future. Education makes us a greater
person.

10.Chapter Eleven, "Microcredit: The Financial Revolution," focuses on the positive changes
that are possible when you lend women money to start businesses, or when women have
control of the family purse. Is it surprising to learn that when men control family spending,
more is spent on beer and prostitutes, and when women are in control more is spent on
food and education (pp. 19293)? Does India's law, assuring that one third of village
leaders will be women, suggest that putting more women in positions of political power
will make the world a better place for children?
Women have been bad treated for a long time and people dont often stop to appreciate
what women can do. Putting more women in positions of political power can make the
world better because usually women have soft heart and actually put money in use wisely
but I feel like not all man waste money, everyone knows how to manage money they just
but not everyone does it.

11.Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce worked tirelessly to expose the truths about the
cruel and gruesome conditions endured by the slaves in the British slave trade (pp. 235
36). Their work is a model for the political effectiveness of bringing atrocities to the
forefront of the public mind and conscience. What realities were brought to light for you,
as you read this book? What details or stories would you consider most provocative,
disturbing, or inspiring for middle-class readers?
Sometimes middle class people think they are poor and think that they arent living a good
life with commodities. These kinds of novels can help them see things differently and
realize that its not always about money, its about happiness. Those seeing other people
struggle will help them realize that they arent living so bad after all.

12.With the stories they recount in this book, Kristof and WuDunn hope to convince readers to
help bring about changes that are desperately needed in the developing world. How
effective would you predict Half the Sky willbe in its effort to create new activists, donors,
and volunteers for the international women's movement (p. 237)?
This is one of the books that makes us reflect and appreciate things more. I feel like this
book helped in the sense that it makes us see the world differently and with no need of
 begging a lot of people are going to start appreciating what they have and help people in
need.

13.Kristof and WuDunn make three specific recommendations for immediate action: "A $10
billion effort over five years to educate girls," focusing on Africa but also encouraging
Afghanistan and Pakistan to do better; a drive to iodize salt in poor countries, to improve
I.Q. points lost to iodine deficiency in utero; and a twelve-year, $1.6 billion campaign to
eradicate obstetric fistula and to reduce maternal mortality (pp. 24647). What do you
think about this vision? What has reading the book done to your sense of what needs to be
done and what kinds of action might be most effective? Has reading the book inspired you
to develop an action strategy or a personal plan to join the movement to address some of
these issues? What kinds of actions personally do you think would be the most effective?
I think its a good vision because we should be passionate about helping others especially
when we have the opportunity to do it. I think that one of the most important things about
this is that we all give voluntarily so we all chose what to give depending on what our
economic status is. I think its a great feeling to feel like you are part of a change in certain
part of the world. I think that another great thing that can be done to fundraise is to sell
food or to do things in which a profit can be received so that it doesnt make people feel
overwhelmed by just giving and not seeing any involvement in the ones in need. This
really changed my mentality, our school offers a lot of fieldtrips to beautiful places but it
also offers fieldtrips to least developed country and I think it would be a good opportunity
for me to actually experience and see how other people in the world live.

14.Jonathan Haidt has written in The Happiness Hypothesis that "a connection to something
larger" can greatly affect our feelings of happiness. As Kristof and WuDunn suggest, "we
are neurologically constructed so that we gain huge personal dividends from altruism" (p.
250). Do you feel this to be true? Do you feel, upon finishing this book, that you can have
a direct impact on helping to turn women in impoverished parts of the world "into full-
fledged human beings" (p. 251)?

Yes I do think this is true. Theres something in me that made me think different about life,
sometimes people need help and we see it but we choose to act as if we dont see,
sometimes we try to avoid things and dont realize that is we actually act and help the
person I can urn theyre whole life around. Everyone can make a difference but not
everyone chooses to.