Care.org’s “Half the Sky” Event: Maybe One Person Really Can Change the World

So I attended last night’s event sponsored by Care.org, Half the Sky a 2-hour, one-time event in movie theaters nationwide (and Canada) based on the book of the same name. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Wow.

This event comes to us on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8th and was created to bring awareness to issues and policies negatively affecting women around the globe. Last night’s Half the Sky event was part celebration, part discussion, part lesson and part call to action.

I knew I would hear harrowing stories of women being oppressed and victimized. I was prepared for the worst, and some of the stories we heard made me numb. I cannot image watching my own daughter or mother in the situations these girls and women face. However, throughout the evening there was tremendous hope and evidence of the enormous impact just one person can have on changing many lives for the better.

Take the story of a young woman named Woinshet, as told in a short film of the same name directed by actress Marisa Tomei and Lisa Leone. As a girl in rural Ethiopia, Woinshet was abducted, raped and coerced into marrying her attacker. For hundreds of years, the majority of Ethiopian girls and women entered marriages this way. Once raped, a girl was shamed by her community and told no one else would marry her. Once a marriage certificate was signed, often the attackers were absolved of any crime. It was accepted by Ethiopian culture as ‘the way to do things.’ That is, until Woinshet did something about it. With the support of her father , she stood up for herself and prosecuted her attacker. She moved with her father from their small village to Addis Ababa and became an advocate for girls across her country. She helped change the law and now such practices are legally crime. She also sought to change the Ethiopian culture by organizing a group that travels to rural areas to speak to both men and women about these crimes and educate them that there are other ways to live that are beneficial to both sexes.

There was one very powerful, visual moment in Woinshet: When the group and filmmakers met with a small village, the women were asked if being abducted and raped was how they came to marry. A few of the women raised their hands. Then little by little, as the women looked around at each other to see who was responding, more raised their hands, until nearly all hands were in the air.

When the men spoke about the crimes they had committed, it was hard not to hate them. However, as they continued to speak, you could see how rooted in their culture their attitudes and actions had been. One man even said that he realized afterward that this was not the type of marriage he wanted. His wife hated him; she was not happy and as a result, neither was he. Through education, they came to view women differently, and in some of the villages, rapes and forced marriages no longer occur. All because of one woman: Woinshet.

One of the big themes of the night was change through education. Not just educating people about situations like I described above, but education in general. When a woman is educated, she is much better off. She not only learns more about her own rights, but she can support herself and her family financially; she can speak out and take part in her government; she can make better reproductive and health choices. People are now realizing that women can make up a very significant global workforce; if they remain uneducated, their “womanpower” is a resource that is wasted. The more women are able to contribute financially, the richer and more stable a nation becomes. Afghan girls under Taliban rule were not allowed to go to any school. Education is real the power; the Taliban were afraid of losing theirs should women have some.

We heard and saw many more stories of women suffering and being marginalized; of being mistreated and denied medical care or basic human rights simply because they are women. There was also evidence that with the help of women all over the globe, their plights can change. If we women and men work to help change policies and laws and minds and offer our support to our women everywhere, things can change. It does not take armies with guns; just armies of people who care.

And speaking of which, last night I joined Care, the organization that sponsored last night’s event. It doesn’t cost anything to join, but you will be continuously informed of different ways to help women around the world, whether its lending your support in the form of volunteering, calling your congressperson or even contribute financially in some way (we also learned of the power of “microfinancing”— for just a few dollars, a woman often can start her own business: growing crops, making garments, etc. For the price of a couple of lattes, a woman’s life can be dramatically changed).

I also recommend that you check out the book for which the event was named: Half the Sky, written by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Why the name ‘Half the Sky?’ As explained by the authors, it comes from a Chinese proverb that states “Women hold up half the sky.” And in some cases, in order to do just that, they need our help and support.