Guided Assignment 7

In this assignment, I'm meant to respond to the book "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women." For those of you who haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

The clever thing the authors of this book do is give examples of women and girls they have met who were in oppressive situations but by being educated or rescued from brothels or financially supported, they have been able to overcome their circumstances.

One that particularly stood out to me was the story of Dai Manju. Manju was 13 when she met the authors, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, in a rural mountain region of China. She had been asked to drop out of elementary school by her parents in the sixth grade because they could not afford the $13 a year tuition. She was at the top of her class though and she loved learning. She wanted to be the first member of her family to graduate elementary school. 

Kristof and WuDunn wrote an article about her for the New York Times which sparked a generous man to donate $10,000 for her tuition. The money allowed the school to be renovated and for scholarships to be available for girls who couldn't afford school, including Manju.

With the scholarship, Manju made it all the way to accounting school, the equivalent of college. She graduated and found a job in a factory and was able to send more and more money home to her parents. After a few years there, she was able to find jobs for family and friends in the factory. Now, her family is one of the richest in her village. 

Dai Manju's story is remarkable to me. She grew up impoverished with little hope of continuing her education. However, because one man invested in her future, she was able to receive an education that allowed her to get a job and support her family.

It is incredible to me how much an education can do for someone.

This story also makes me realize how lucky I am. My parents had little to no trouble putting me through 12 years of catholic school, elementary and high school. Now I'm at college and I earned a sizable scholarship but my parents still don't have an issue paying the difference. I never had to worry about buying pencils or paper. I never had to wonder if I would be able to continue my education to the next year. 

I have taken all of this for granted. I always work my hardest and take the harder classes but it was all in the interest of making my future self as successful as possible. I never thought about supporting my parents (and probably my sister because you can only live comfortably on a waitressing income for so long). I also never realized how much good for others my education could do. I'm fortunate enough to be able to make it through university. I can advocate for those women who can't. Any good I do could encourage someone to invest in other women all over the world so that they can end the cycle of poverty and oppression.