January Series - Half the Sky by Sheryl Wu Dunn

On Friday I went to the January Series lecture by Sheryl Wu Dunn in which she discussed some of what is covered in the book she and her husband wrote called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and told some fascinating and tragic stories of women from around the world and the challenges they face.

In both her book and her lecture, she started off with a Chinese proverb that says “Women hold up half the sky.” Though men and women both make up about half the population, she told us that in many third world countries, there are more men than women because women are treated as being inferior, often receive less health care, etc., and therefore have shorter life expectancies. Throughout American history, women have often been treated as being inferior to men, even today that is still true to an extent, but in the countries where Wu Dunn and her husband travelled, this sexism is much more apparent. The “Empire” tells stories of men’s superiority and women’s inferiority, but that is not how it should be. Wu Dunn talked about how many people blame poor women for the problems in their countries, but she suggests a better story: women are the solution. She told us the inspiring stories of girls and women from developing nations around the world and how they have overcome their challenges and started giving back to their communities in wonderful ways. So much evil can come from sexism and discriminating against and thinking women to be inferior. This artifact revealed just how much evil this story can produce, but also revealed that there is hope. With the right nutrition, medical help, education, etc., women truly can make a difference in this world. In the Kingdom of God, men and women are equal in God’s eyes, and they should be treated the same. Unfortunately that is not the case in today’s Empire, but there is hope for redemption.

Discussion questions:

What can we do to help women here and in other countries?

What can we do to make change for the better and try to prevent/end these stories of sexism, abuse, and discrimination?