For most of human history, women have been the other. At best we are wives, mothers, cooks, nursemaids and housekeepers. At worst, we are chattel, exist solely for the sexual pleasure of men and a vessel to bring the next generation of children (i.e. boys) into the world.
Melinda Gates wants to change that for this generation of women and the future generations of women who will one day succeed them. In her new book, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, Ms. Gates tells stories of the women whom she has met around the world. They are denied opportunities for education, for a career, the ability to make decisions on how to live life on their terms. Forced into poverty, early marriage and having many children without access to decent medical care, these women’s potential is being held back because they are women.
If nothing else, this book is both inspiring and horrifying. For all of the rights and opportunities that I, as woman living in a first world country take for granted, there are millions of women who do not have either. The reality is that uplifting women helps both the individual and the community. But many are afraid of change and we must fight that fear to make real change happen.
I absolutely recommend it.
Writergurlny 