Half The Sky Empowerment Analysis

Initially, when one hears the word empowerment, they may think of it as literally giving someone social or political power. That is not necessarily wrong, but it is so much more than that. As Charlotte Bronte states in Jane Eyre, “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will” (277). That is empowerment- feeling as though one has complete control over themselves and the situations in their lives. This awareness can then be turned outward through educating others thus creating a cycle that can slowly change the world. A vision of empowerment is evident through Kristof and WuDunn’s stories of two women in Half the Sky. Throughout Half the Sky, Kristof and WuDunn offer testimonies and accounts of women who have been victims of things such as sex trafficking, gang rape, and honor killings. Meena Hasina’s story is the perfect example of a vision of empowerment in Half the Sky. Kristof and WuDunn offer the girl’s story of her past, and tell how she is doing now. In many of the cases, Kristof and WuDunn encounter an uneducated young girl or woman raised in the slum of a third world country and tells how she is doing now. Most of the stories seem to lead to the empowerment of the girl.
Meena Hasina, an …show more content…
We see this vision of empowerment take form in people like Meena and Sunitha who, even though they have fairly different stories, provide the prime examples. Meena and Sunitha’s differences let us see that no matter financial, social, or political power, empowerment is possible. Both women became strengthened and fought against the odds to educate others and slowly began to change the world. Something that so many people discern as a simple state of mind becomes something very powerful. As Kristof and WuDunn state, “empowerment transforms” (xxii). And that can change the