Half The Sky

Written on 2/18/11 on the LIRR to New Hyde Park

Yesterday I woke up in Malvern PA - it was a busy day, my first appointment was at 8:30, and another at 10:00, and then a lunch and learns at 12:00; which took around three hours. After dropping off the rental and filling up the car, I made it home after 7:30. Made a salad for dinner and had a yogurt.
I’ve been reading Half The Sky and will participate in a book club at church. After watching a documentary on Frontline on sex slaves and reading this book my mind has been transformed. The insidious nature of prostitution and our misogynic attitude has destroyed the welfare of societies. Predators have waged a wining war on poor women, and the most poor are the most vulnerable. With false promises of a better life through jobs, they are stolen and sold into sex trafficking. Once there, they are physically and mentally tortured and drugged to comply with any demands. Just this week, our western world was shocked by the gang rape by a group of men in Egypt on a CBS reporter. In comparison to the stories in Half The Sky, all of us should get doses of reality checks. It’s not uncommon for young girls to be brutally raped or disfigured. The missing element in these societies had been the lack of education. Universal education should be standard, not only for women, but for men as well. If a woman is schooled, there are greater benefits for their society. They have fewer children; they become leaders in their villages, entrepreneurs, nurses and doctors. There is hope. We need to be conscientious. Instead of writing a check to help a cause, roll up your sleeves and assist. As I’m writing this, I have an intention to go back to Guatemala, but in my own back yard, there are young girls who are growing up in poverty and are becoming victims.

Listening to NPR this morning, there is a story on Afghan women and abuse they're encountering, shelters are fronts to prostitution? Many women are forced into marrying their rapist out of shame.