Helen Lee
Author, The Missional Mom
Facebook users recently saw the meme “Top 10 Books That Have Stayed With You” flash around the network, as friends posted their lists of most memorable reads through the years. When my turn came, I cleared my mind, closed my eyes, and noted the titles that floated to my attention. One of the first to do so was Half the Sky, by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and spouses Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
The book provides extraordinary, gripping descriptions (in often gruesome detail) of the types of oppression women experience all over the world. Kristof and WuDunn also include stories of opportunity amidst the most dire of circumstances, but the overall effect of the book is sobering and disturbing, as it addresses topics such as the ongoing rape, slavery, and mortality issues affecting countless women today.
I actually heard WuDunn speak in person when she came to a conference of Christian women leaders, during which she praised the work of evangelical churches and organizations in helping to address the injustices and needs in Half the Sky. But then she issued these words to challenge us on an individual level: “The greatest moral challenge of the 21st century is gender inequity…Once your material needs are all met, there are very few things that can increase your happiness. One of them is to contribute to a cause larger than yourself. We all have won the lottery of life. How do we discharge that responsibility?”
I confess that at times, I have looked upon my own status as a woman of color in the church as a disadvantage. I think of times that I haven’t been allowed to teach or speak to a group of men, or instances in which my opinions have been ignored or overlooked in favor of a (white) male colleague’s perspective. It’s easy to dwell in those moments of injustice and think, “I have no power or opportunity to be heard or make the difference that I should be able to make.”
But that would be a limited perspective on my part. Compared with millions of women around the globe who have no voice or leverage of their own, I have indeed been blessed beyond measure. I have not been sold into slavery, victimized by acid attacks, blocked from educational opportunities, or experienced sexual violence. I have the kind of power that women all over the globe cannot even dream of for themselves.
As I look ahead to 2014, I am glad to be reminded again of stories and atrocities that are uncomfortable and challenging. Sometimes what we need in a new year is not a fresh slate to pursue new ideas and opportunities, but recommitments to address ongoing injustices that still need our attention and effort. If “women hold up half the sky,” as the Chinese proverb states, then what better way to spend the coming year than to dedicate ourselves to those who keep that sky from falling.
—Helen Lee