Half the Sky

Half the Sky is a book that’s starting a movement to promote women’s rights around the world. It's based on a Chinese saying that women hold up half the sky.

Yesterday I attended a Fathom Event broadcast by the authors that included a short movie. It’s about a 21-year-old African woman who at age 13 or 14 was abducted, raped, and forced to marry her abductor. Who else would want to marry a girl without her virginity? With the help of her counter-culture father, she refused the marriage and today travels to villages to educate people about a better way.

The men she spoke with said they felt it was their right to take girls, and felt they had won a medal. What is wrong with that, they asked? The women spoke of being trapped in loveless marriages, forced to do most of the work. After being educated, one man publicly apologized to his wife, and even bowed to the ground and kissed her feet – what a moment!

Stories are powerful. I thank God that I have the opportunity to not only know people like this young woman, but to write about them. May others not only know their pain, but be inspired by their trimph and joy as God holds up ALL of the sky.