A friend at school showed me this amazing book today about "Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide." Oprah invited the authors to speak about the book on a recent show which aired on Dec. 1, 2009. The book is also featured in Oprah Magazine and on her website. The website article proposes three things that we can do on a global level to help women who are oppressed - make girls smarter, support a woman's business and keep a girl in school.
The book is full of stories of the worst incidents of violence, oppression, and rape that I have ever read. I had goosebumps while reading the story of Tererai who was not allowed to go to school because she had to do the household chores. Her brother was forced to attend but he didn't care and never did his homework or paid attention to his studies. When he brought his books home, Tererai taught herself to read and write and completed his homework for him - until the teacher found out the truth. The teacher went to her parents to explain and Tererai was allowed to attend for some months. However, her father quickly married her off at the age of 11 and her husband beat her and refused to allow her to return to school. The story gets worse from there.
It's hard to believe that in today's society of endless opportunities and possibilities that there are still places in the world where oppression occurs. How sad it is to see our own youth not caring about school when so many other children would do anything to get an education. For them education means freedom. If only my students realized how fortunate they truly are.
The book can be purchased from Oprah's website where a portion of the proceeds will go to support women in need around the globe. I'm placing my order today and look forward to reading more about this important topic soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment