Invitation: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Book Discussion)

Please join the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Global Health Initiative &
Environmental Change and Security Program, the White Ribbon Alliance for
Safe Motherhood, & International Gateway for a discussion of

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

featuring

Nicholas Kristof, Author and Columnist, The New York Times
Sheryl WuDunn, Author and Investment Advisor
Aparajita Gogoi, National Coordinator, White Ribbon Alliance for Safe
Motherhood-India;
Country Director, Centre for Development and Population Activities
(CEDPA)
Jérémie Zoungrana, National Advisor, White Ribbon Alliance for Safe
Motherhood-Burkina Faso and Rwanda; Country Director, JHPIEGO-Rwanda;
and Manager, Safe Birth Africa Initiative, ACCESS

Thursday, September 10, 2009
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Book Signing Follows
Pavilion, Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
Delayed webcast available as of 6:00 p.m. EST at www.wilsoncenter.org

Please RSVP to globalhealth@wilsoncenter.org with your name and
affiliation.

Please join us for a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winners Nicholas
D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn about their new book, Half the Sky: Turning
Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The coauthors argue
that empowering women and girls can be a key factor in ending one of our
era’s most pervasive human rights violations. Kristof and WuDunn
profile women and girls throughout Africa and Asia, examining the impact
on their lives of “four appalling realities”: maternal mortality,
sexual violence, and lack of education and economic opportunities. The
book illustrates how a little help can transform the lives of women and
girls abroad, showcasing organizations working in developing countries
to empower women. Finally, they argue that women’s emancipation will
unleash “the greatest unexploited economic resource” and may be our
best strategy for fighting poverty.

Maternal health experts Aparajita Gogoi, national coordinator of White
Ribbon Alliance-India and country director for CEDPA, and Jérémie
Zoungrana, national advisor to White Ribbon Alliance in Burkina Faso and
Rwanda and country director for JHPIEGO-Rwanda, will discuss their work
to improve women’s health, starting with a healthy pregnancy and safe
childbirth. They will present examples of women-from first ladies to
rural midwives-who are leading successful grassroots efforts to secure
every woman’s access to lifesaving care.

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If you are interested, but unable to attend the event, please tune into
the archived webcast at www.wilsoncenter.org. The webcast will be
available as of 6:00 p.m. EST. You will need Windows Media Player to
watch the webcast. To download the free player, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download.

Location: Pavilion, Ronald Reagan Building: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW,
Washington, DC. ("Federal Triangle" stop on Blue/Orange Line), A map to
the venue is available at http://itcdc.com/interactiveMap.html. Note:
Due to heightened security, entrance to the building will be restricted
and photo identification is required. Please allow additional time to
pass through security.