Event: Sheryl WuDunn, Coauthor of Half the Sky

Katie D.

May 12, 2011 - 8:50 PM

Last night, journalist Sheryl WuDunn spoke in the EMU Ballroom on the UO campus about her book, Half the Sky, and the state of women in a globalized world. Half the Sky is a powerful book that addresses poverty, structural violence, human trafficking, and the oppression faced by women around the world. The message of the book is one of triumph and inspiration: that by changing the status of women, we can address the social issues of our global community. Women are the solution.

Ms. WuDunn was here as a Lorwin Lecturer on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the University of Oregon. Her speech was part of a series on Women's Rights in a Global World. In these contexts, WuDunn joined our campus to share her experiences traveling the world, along with Half the Sky and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff. Together, they have documented some of the tragedies facing women, including forced prostitution, starvation, unequal access to education and medical care, and the consistent unequal to resources due to gender discrimination.

I was thrilled to be part of the community present for this lecture. I love when the University students mingle with the greater Eugene population for events supporting social action and global justice. I love the multigenerational feel, and the opportunity to unify our greater community to address some of the truly gritty issues we all share. I shared the audience with many students I know, as well as several of my favorite professors and several community members I recognize from other social-justice events.

However, my overall sense of the event was one of a missed opportunity. WuDunn is a dynamic speaker, and accompanied her stories with some beautiful photography of the six women's stories she explored at length. She touched on some of the issues that most inspire me. But there was something troubling about the presentation. I've been thinking about it all day.

She spoke about a young women who escaped prostitution after being brutalized by the madam of the brothel. She told about a young Ugandan girl who, because of a timely Heifer International donation of a goat, was able to start school as a nine-year old, and thereby continued her education to graduate from a Untied States University. She spoke about an Ethiopian teenager who, through a tremendous act of courage in the midst of a medical crisis, crawled thirty miles to the nearest village, where the kindness of a missionary allowed her to recover and become a nurse to help others.

These are amazing stories of courage and the triumph of the human spirit. They are stories of hope and inspiration for the international community to support other women in escaping their oppressed situations and becoming leaders.

And yet there was something simplistic about the whole presentation. There was a linear progression from oppression, to the donation of an international stranger, to the empowerment of the individual woman and the betterment of her community. While I believe these stories and am truly inspired by the strength of these individuals, I also believe that it is essential to examine all successes within their contexts. From reading Nicholas Kristoff's stories, I know that many women rescued from horrifying situations are entrapped again by the structures of violence and oppression which surround them. While it is inspiring to discuss the success stories, to me the truth is equally housed in the understanding that can arise from those women who do not succeed in an international spotlight. How do we understand these stories? What allows these rare few WuDunn stories to develop? What aid projects fail? Why? What does the investment of foreign money mean for the men and women surrounding that single success story?

I do not mean to write as a cynic or a jaded academic. I am honestly curious. I feel that I had seen a greater depth of critical analysis in the written reporting of these stories. As I looked around the audience, I felt that I was not alone. We wanted a deeper story. When WuDunn displayed a floor-to-ceiling Power Point slide reading "Women and girls aren't the problem. They are the solution." I wanted to yell "YES! So now what?!" Perhaps this is my generational bias speaking. I see gender discrimination around me, although my position in society has generally shielded me from some of the more ugly ramifications. But I feel like we should all know by now that women are not the problem. I feel that we all know some of the success stories. But I wanted to hear about the structures that need changing, the critical examination of the efforts which succeed and those that fail. I want to hear the truth of women's lives in these places, not the carefully crafted headline of a single success. I do not respond well to tokenism. I want a real story.

It is possible that this response I felt is a good sign. It might indicate that this ideology is already well established in the UO and Eugene community: more so, perhaps, than in the other places WuDunn lectures. But I hope she will complicate her story. She ended with a call to action "America is a great country, and with our great privilege comes the responsibility to act. We've already won the lottery of life by being born here." I agree. My enormous privilege gives me mobility, education, security, and the time and comfort to be creative, idealistic, and passionate in pursuing my interests. As I left, I honestly considered this challenge.

This is what privilege means to me: that I am free to speak the truth, the whole truth. I am free to pursue it and study it and share it. The world as I understand it is available for profound examination and critical thought.

Therefore, as a strong and successful woman, I hope to spend my life telling the hard truths. I challenge us all to do the same: learn, act, and speak boldly.