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BOOK REVIEW: Exceptions or trends? —by Saleem H Ali

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
By Nicholas D Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Knopf; New York

Half the Sky will be a difficult book for Pakistanis to read because it turns a mirror on some of the most detestable practices in our society. Many readers will have a knee-jerk reaction of negative patriotism and try to dismiss these cases as exceptions

Columnists for the New York Times have enormous power of persuasion in their writing but more significantly their impact simply comes from the unique pedestal the paper offers to get an audience of millions worldwide. With such immense visibility these columnists have a responsibility as well to be agents of positive social change. Perhaps no other columnist in the history of the paper has taken this responsibility to heart as admirably as Nicholas Kristof. From alerting us to the problems of modern China to the crisis of Darfur to the scourge of honour killings, Kristof has been a champion for the oppressed. He has brought untold stories to the public and been a palpable agent of change. Often risking his life to travel to distant corners of the globe, he has tirelessly documented tales of human suffering and resilience with care and sensitivity. The public has clearly responded positively to him. If cyberspace is any indicator of popularity, Kristof is by far the most popular of any columnist at the Times, boasting over 147,000 Facebook fans on his page. In comparison, other luminaries such as Thomas Friedman and Maureen Dowd have under 5,000 fans each!

Kristof epitomises the proverbial “good guy” in the egocentric world of journalism and this shines through especially in his books — all of which are co-authored with his wife Sheryl WuDunn, an eminent writer in her own right. In their latest book, Kristof and WuDunn tackle the intractable problem of promoting women’s rights worldwide, against a resistant tide of cultural exceptionalism. The title of the book comes from an old Chinese proverb that states “women hold up half the sky”. In rural Pakistan the metaphor should perhaps give them an even greater share of being the pillars of perseverance.

The plight of Pakistani women is a notable theme in this book as some of the most horrific tales of abuses sadly come from our country. In the introduction of the book is a photograph of a woman from Rawalpindi, named Naeema Azar who was burned blind by her ex-husband and is now guided around town by her twelve-year-old son. The book also devotes an entire chapter to the story of Mukhtar Mai, who was gang-raped on orders of a village council in Southern Punjab 2002. To their credit the authors also acknowledge the help offered to the victim by the village imam, thus clarifying that the abominable act against Mukhtar was by no means related to religious dogma.

However, Kristof and WuDunn are also brave enough to challenge “political correctness” and in a separate chapter ask the question about whether religion is misogynistic. They acknowledge the acerbic statistic that “countries where girls are cut, killed for honour, or kept out of school or the workplace typically have large Muslim populations.” Furthermore, they substantiate their findings with data. For example, in Egypt only 25% of the population believes that a woman should have a right to become president. And yet, we are left with the bewildering paradox that several Muslim countries have indeed had women leaders, including Pakistan. Class differentiation could be the easy explanation but there is something else going on as well to indicate that Muslim societies may be more flexible in terms of gender roles than may be otherwise assumed. However, the problem of gender discrimination in Muslim lands, including Pakistan is real and musts be addressed as Kristof and WuDunn correctly urge us to do.

The book acknowledges that that there are many human rights activists and women’s development organisations in Muslim countries who are championing the rights of women through legislative activism and personal action despite enormous threats to their lives. Indeed, within Islamic theology there are ways to consider the rights of women in a modern context but sadly Pakistani clerics are still far from embracing these modernist interpretations because of the dominant influence of Saudi fundamentalism.

Despite the despair that permeates so many of the stories of the book, the tone of the narrative is also hopeful. In each case, the authors try to transform the victim through tales of personal valour and sacrifice. The book also ends on a note of advocacy, exhorting readers to get engaged in a global movement to end the abuse of women just as the world united to end slavery at all levels across all societies. The authors also provide a list of four steps which we can take to get involved with various NGOs that are working towards the goal of equal rights for women worldwide.

Half the Sky will be a difficult book for Pakistanis to read because it turns a mirror on some of the most detestable practices in our society. Many readers will have a knee-jerk reaction of negative patriotism and try to dismiss these cases as exceptions. However, as the country finally confronts the Taliban, let us not forget that the most pernicious aspects of their regime which brought discomfort to even some of the more conservative aspects of society was their total disregard for the rights of women. Even if we discount any of the other motivations for the confrontation in Waziristan and Swat, the mere fact that hundreds of girls schools were destroyed by the fanatics should make us consider what we are up against. No society can flourish with the demoralisation and marginalisation of half of its population by using ossified cultural excuses. To quote an epigraph from Mark Twain that Kristof and WuDunn mention: “What would men be without women? Scarce, sir, mighty scarce!”

Dr Saleem H Ali is associate professor of environmental planning at the University of Vermont. This article is partially excerpted from his new book “Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future” (Yale University Press, October 2009)

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