HALF THE SKY

 

Half the sky

           Kristof and WuDunn in their book, half the sky tells of the hardships that women the developing world face in their day to day living. They set out to research more on some of the cruelest conditions in which these women innocently find themselves in. some of these oppressive situations that are emphasized in the book include trafficking, female mortality and gender-based violence (Kristof & WuDunn, 2011). The authors creatively give a correlation on the causes of these terrifying situations to women’s subjected positions in their nations. However, they argue that lack of education is a cause and also a consequence of these terrifying situations. These experiences are given by women through testifying on these terrifying moments as a voice to the larger population of women in the developing world.

           According to the Kristof and WuDunn, they outline the causes for the dominance of trafficking to be as a result of gender prejudice and poor lifestyles. The social pecking order is therefore offered as an essential element of an organization geared towards trafficking. Therefore, call upon politicians’ participation in the movement called modern abolitionist movement. Generally, the authors saw education and empowerment of women as the solution to the reduction of trafficking. Culture has a bigger part to play in these difficulties faced by women (Kristof & WuDunn, 2011). The authors tell of how in some of these culture in the developing nations accepts a practice that allows a woman to be raped by a man so as to force her to be submissive. To some other cultures, rape is ordinarily used by criminals and also in family dispute as a weapon assuming that the victim will feel shame to an extent that they will refrain from reporting the attack to the police. The authors effectively explain how families and countries in developing worlds fall short of investing in female education and healthcare as they want them to be dependent on the men and also on their state and they also become an economic asset to their families. Most of the female is thus malnourished and frequently suffer and die from preventable illnesses at a tender age, while other African women have a medical condition called fistulas which occur during childbirth which s a curable disease but are however not treated and are abandoned to die within their villages. The authors, therefore, illustrate how traditions that are seen as oppressive are dangerous to female’s health and at times it can be so deep within a culture that the women themselves support them (Kristof & WuDunn, 2011). In the years to come, women in the developing nations need to be given adequate health care and this can only be enhanced through health movements that are geared to help them. Thus it is important to gain insight on the common female health issues in developing worlds so as to be able to offer the right assistance.

           To sum it up, the illustration of some of these essential human rights problem were both a heartbreaking but also an inspiring moment. I thus have gained a better understanding of the economic development and how it is related to health. It is therefore important for nurses to read the book so as to understand on some of the medical gaps that are found in the developing nations and in so doing they will be able to volunteer and also join the movement to help out the women who are going through these hardships by offering them with education and how to maintain their health in general.  

 

 

 

 

References

      Kristof, N. D., & WuDunn, S. (2011). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.