Bookworms Taking Action

I recently read an interesting news article about a group of women who live in West Vancouver, Canada. About eight years ago they started a book club—and I applaud them for this—that met once a week. (The best my life offers me is a writing group meeting once every month, and when my Pen meetings roll around, I attack them as if I’ve been lost in the Sahara for a year without water or books to read and I have finally been offered a gourmet feast of pepperoni pizza and retellings of Greek legends. That is to say, I live for them.) 

This book club wasn’t like most books clubs I’ve heard about, either. Instead of focusing on Jane Austen or classics or getting into 50 Shades of Grey, they read books about empowerment. About civil rights and social justice. And they started to react to what it was they were reading. These women started to volunteer abroad and at home. And still they wondered, Are we doing enough? 

Then they read Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof’s book, Half the Sky. 

I had to read Half the Sky for class, as well as write a book review on it, and as a college student, it did not hit me as much as it did for these women. Even though I love and respect Kristof and his writings, and as a female these issues are very important to me, this book did not make me happy. Instead, it made me learn more than I ever really wanted to know about C-Sections, and how in Africa it is apparently normal for your doctor to pull out your uterus, like a huge bubble-gum bubble, and cut it open to extract the baby. 

Not what your average girl needs to be learning about. I think my next book will be entitled: Abstinence, Forever. 

But I realize I am basically disparaging this book, and not giving it credit where it is due. 

Here’s the thing: everything in Half the Sky is true and deeply impacting. When these women read it, they knew that what Kristof and WuDunn were trying to say did not end on the last page. So they held an event, raffling off goods such as a Cameron Diaz’ outfit, to raise money for and speak out against trafficking and domestic abuse. 

I applaud these ladies. They are amazing role models, and really care about the people who live on this planet. They did exactly what I wished I could have done after reading Half the Sky, and I commend them for it. They took their vision and made it a reality.

The next step is to get the word out about women’s empowerment and how YOU can help. Read the article. Read Kristof and WuDunn’s book. And tell your friends, too. We all can’t do what the “Real Housewives of West Vancouver,” did, but we can at least spread the word. 

Some links (and books!) I recommend:  

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ This webpage is due to officially open...basically, any given second this month. It's an expansion of the book, and as a bonus, it will send you e-mail uploads! 

http://www.unicef.org/ the website of a United Nations group that works on promoting education and health to children all over the world.

 http://www.girlup.org/
Girl Up is one of my favorite organizations out there. It's bright, it's catchy, it has a clothes line, it does everything your average kind of selfish college student really likes. They also upload music videos and take your e-mail address, for information on the go.

 http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ 
I'm sure you've heard about all of the Invisible Children controversy that has been floating around there. Yes, Jason Russell acted like an asshat and put his case in the toilet. But I for one have been following the Jason Russell saga for a very long time--and my friends have been keeping up with him since his first horrifying documentary. He has a lot to say, and it would be a shame to count his company out because their leader had a Human Moment.

Caroline Moorhead's book, Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees, that looks at why people are forced to leave their homes. This is more of a social aspect that women's empowerment, but it gives the same effect--we are all human, and deserve to be treated with basic dignity and rights.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel. While this book is controversial for attacking the Islamic faith, this book does--I believe accurately--portray female genital cutting/mutilation and other hardships women face in Somalia and poorer regions of the world.

Jean P. Sasson's book, Princess, which also takes a look at women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

And if none of these books are enough, your normal philosophers and Saul Alinsky will guide you further in your quest for equality and empowerment. May the odds be ever in your favor.