Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Zainab Salbi says: Half the Sky is one of the few pivotal books that really changed the women’s movement from being confined to activists to something more universal. The awakening and realisation of that call is very exciting.
Mia Farrow says: In the book one of the stories is about how, if you took every girl and woman who has to walk to get water, that distance circles the whole globe. That is how their day is spent. Women in so much of the world are doing so much of the labour without having any of the rights or reaping their share of the profits, not to mention the issue of respect for women and girls. If you educate girls, women and boys then they will have a different perspective on who women are and what they are capable of.
Before we start talking about the five books, as one of UNICEF’s goodwill ambassadors, you focus on how children are impacted by conflict and emergency. You have travelled all over Africa; what particular experience has really inspired you to believe in the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals?
I think in principle one has to set these goals and move towards them, otherwise where are we going? But, more specifically, whether travelling with UNICEF or on my own I am always struck by the children and how every child’s face is full of hope-even in the most difficult circumstances. So I feel we don’t have the luxury of being hopeless when it comes to other people. The Millennium Development Goals are absolutely achievable, if people put their shoulders to it and push. Just imagine what the world would look like if world leaders kept these goals in mind and on top of their agendas.
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Mia Farrow, internationally acclaimed actress and humanitarian activist, is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She campaigns tirelessly for children’s rights around the world, with a special focus on children impacted by armed conflict. Ms Farrow has worked extensively to raise funds and awareness for children in Angola, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Gaza and the West Bank, Haiti, Uganda and Sudan. She has appeared in more than 40 films and many theatrical productions. She is the author of a memoir, What Falls Away. The Presidential Medal of Honor was presented to Mia Farrow during her mission to the Central African Republic in 2007.
Your next choice is Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, which looks at women’s lives particularly in Africa and Asia.
Half the Sky was one of the tipping points in the discussion of how we re-energise the women’s movement and expand it to a mainstream audience that is more inclusive of women and men; individuals who are deeply concerned about global issues but who have not necessarily been aware about women’s issues before. This book elevated the topic of women’s rights and made it acceptable for every woman and man to read and to have that ‘Oh my God’ moment, where they say, ‘This should not be acceptable. Women shouldn’t be treated like this.’
If I look at the recent modern history of the women’s movement I would say that Half the Sky is one of the few pivotal books that really changed the movement from just being confined to activists to something more universal. What I love about it the most is this idea that if the 19th century was about stopping slavery and the 20th century was about civil rights, the 21st century is about women’s rights. The awakening and realisation of that call is very exciting and they do this so movingly through the personal stories of all the women they meet.
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Zainab Salbi is founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a grassroots humanitarian and development organisation helping women survivors of war to rebuild their lives. She is the author of two books, the bestseller Between Two Worlds, which documents her life under Saddam Hussein’s rule, and The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope. Her work has been featured on CNN and in The Washington Post and The New York Times. She has been a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show eight times and was recently honoured by former President Bill Clinton for her work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
