Kristof Urges Action to End Oppression of Women Worldwide

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner lays out an agenda for change at Wooster Forum event

If slavery was the central moral challenge of the 19th century and totalitarianism that of the 20th, the paramount challenge in the 21st century is fighting the oppression of women and girls throughout the world. So said New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof in a speech Tuesday night at The College of Wooster. The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner spoke as part of this year’s Wooster Forum, whose theme is “Global Citizens: Turning Passion into Action.”

Kristof’s latest book, Half the Sky, co-written with his wife and fellow Times reporter, Sheryl WuDunn, is subtitled “Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.” In his talk Tuesday, Kristof used stories drawn from two decades of reporting in Asia and Africa to paint a stark picture of the lives of women in the developing world, where unequal access to education, health care, and even food is too often the norm.

In India, Kristof said, citing one example, mothers are twice as likely to take their sons to be vaccinated and girls ages one to five are 50 percent more likely to die than boys. Beyond the deadly impact of such attitudes on an individual level, Kristof said, there is a much broader impact as well.

“As a purely practical matter,” he told the audience, “if you want to confront poverty and extremism, the most effective way is to bring education to women and girls, and bring them into the formal economy…[Failing to do so] is an incredible waste of resources in countries that have few resources to spare.”

What would an agenda to alleviate the oppression of women and girls in the developing world look like? Kristof singled out four areas: eliminating sex trafficking, improving maternal health care, providing microfinance opportunities so women can open small businesses, and expanding access to education.

He closed by urging his listeners to get involved, pointing out that in this area, as in so many others, technology has expanded opportunities for grass roots, bottom up participation. As Kristof put it, “There are tools that enable individuals to get involved in foreign aid” in very targeted ways.

He highlighted organizations like Kiva, whose microfinance website allows individuals to lend money, in amounts as little as $25, to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world, and Global Giving, whose site connects donors with community based projects that need support. Kristof and WuDunn have also launched their own effort, at halftheskymovement.org.

“Don’t feel you have to solve all the world’s problems to make a difference,” he urged the students in the audience. By just picking one small area, “you can make an extraordinary difference to real people.”

The final event in the 2009 Wooster Forum will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in McGaw Chapel, when Wangari Maathai, author of The Challenge for Africa and founder of the Greenbelt Movement, will talk about the organization’s efforts to mobilize community consciousness for self-determination, equity, improved livelihoods and security, and environmental conservation. For more information about the Wooster Forum, call 330-263-2132.