Author Sally Armstrong
Throughout this book, Ms. Armstrong does not pull punches. For instance, she notes that "honor killings," are often defended as a cultural right, but adds that those who commit them "invariably attempt to cover it up with a tapestry of lies and protestations of innocence." According to an interview with a coroner in East Jerusalem, there are corpses that bear the marks of an honor killing, but that honor killing is almost never the official cause of death.
Beyond the listing of offenses against women, Ms. Armstrong offers an impressive array of positive facts: "The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 percent. This increase could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent, or up to 150 million people."
And again: "The surest path to the eradication of poverty is the economic empowerment of women, who make up the majority of the world's poor." And she also notes that such empowered women "… invest the income in their children, which is the definition of sustainable development."
Although a great many of the examples of discrimination against women in this book relate to Afghanistan, where Ms. Armstrong has long had connections and has done much reportage, she brings into play examples from many other countries and regions, among which are: Africa, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Yugoslavia (including Serbia and Croatia), and even Canada and the United States, the latter featuring, of all people, Geena Davis, who realized that Hollywood itself is guilty of under-representing women, and produced good research to prove her claim.
Ms. Armstrong’s research and reportage are impeccable. This reviewer has never before felt the need to quote at such length from the subject of a review, but given the scope and power of this book, just trying to paraphrase or retell any part of it would be a grave injustice. Let me finish with one more quote ('bold' emphases mine).
"A vast collection of knowledge and learned ways of dealing with particular circumstances inevitably feed a tipping point. One of them is changes in language itself. Language matters… Saying that you are acting in the name of God can be either a blessing or a curse; feeding the poor and caring for the sick in the name of God is one thing; being denied an education and health care in the name of God is another. Dismissing violence as cultural rather than criminal excuses the act. Until we call crimes against women (and humanity) by their true names, we’ll not only fail to stop the violence against women that is endemic throughout the world, we will be endorsing it."
This book is destined to be shared in many a book club throughout America. It is also a book to give to your daughters and granddaughters, for it is the young women of the world who have at last begun to speak up and bring about long over-due changes.
©2014 Julia Sneden for SeniorWomen.com
AND CONSIDER THIS:
Joan La Prade Cannon, Senior Women Web's esteemed columnist, has come out with a book of poetry entitled My Mind Is Made of Crumbs. Those of us who are fans of her erudite essays may be surprised to discover that the lady is a very accomplished poet as well. Her slim paperback contains poems written over many years, organized into sections headed "Then," "Now," and "Whenever."
The book is dedicated to her late husband, Roger, and while many of the poems deal with pain and loss, others express the deep connection of their long and happy marriage. A number of other poems offer memories of events and places, or offer keen observations of nature (think seasons, places, birds). This is poetry at its most accessible, beautifully straightforward and at the same time highly sophisticated.
— J.S.
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