'Women hold up half the sky' -Chinese Proverb

"Reasonable People adapt themselves to the world.
Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves.
All progress therefore, depends on unreasonable people."

-George Bernard Shaw quote from 'Half the Sky'

I highly recommend the book, 'Half the Sky.' Kristof and WuDunn have been writing and engaging with development and international relations for the last 25 years. The book offers vignettes into the oppression, transformation and courage of women worldwide.

'In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality in the developing world (excerpt from Introduction).

Through the stories we are helped to understand that the key to economic and human progress today "lies in unleashing women's potential."

The more I uncover about development and progress the clearer it becomes that real change usually begins on the ground. Being exposed to the reality of our world today can begin with reading a book like Kristof and WuDunns, or through travel and communication with different kinds of people. It is not through pouring foreign money into developing nations, but through understanding and fighting against modern forms of slavery and inequality that impede individuals from flourishing. Freedom is development. And no matter what any skeptic says, this book illustrates that great change can start with the efforts of just one person.