Choices, Chances, Changes
I’m surging forth in my reading of ‘Half the Sky,’ but not without horror and tears. As a middle-class American women with a college degree, I am shocked to these stories. I am NOT naive to think that this didn’t exist. I know, I truly understood that around the globe these stories happened. BUT, now I am exposed to the truths and terrors, that I (luckily) have never faced.
I feel like quite the hypocrite. I sit here blogging from my laptop, watching ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ on an HDTV, with my iPhone charging next to me in a beautiful apartment. I live THE life. On the other side of me, my book lies on the couch. I read it everyday with caution. Each page brings about a newer, deeper story, it also brings me new fear and wonder.
What I have realized throughout this book lies true across the board – no matter the country, culture, religion. laws, politics, etc. That is simply EDUCATION. Once education was introduced in each story thus far, results and solutions were achieved. Granted, I do not believe that we will live in a world without crime, but in our world we can achieve peace. Education provides women, girls, boys, men with the tools to overcome bad, evil. Yes, it is easy for me to say as the ‘educated’ woman. It can’t be so easy? But IT IS!
The above excerpt is from “Our Fascinating World” a blog, written by Devin Cowhey, Coordinator of Student Activities at Virginia Wesleyan College, about her personal reflections, including reactions to the book Half the Sky. Half the Sky was the catalyst to to establishing the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation. Cowhey’s reaction is a ‘typical’ reaction to the book, one we have heard over an over again as we’ve spread the message of the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation around the country. Now, we are given another vehicle to help spread the word. We hope Cowhey and everyone else who has felt a call to action from reading the book will join us October 1, 2012.
Half the Sky Movement, Circle of Sisterhood Foundation and the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) are partnering to bring awareness of the documentary that will air on PBS on October 1 & 2, 2012. Nicki Meneley, Executive Director of the NPC states, “Our goal is to have College Panhellenics, Alumnae Panhellenics, individual sorority chapters, etc. all across the country coordinating viewing parties to watch this amazing documentary and discussing how we, as educated sorority women, can impact the world.”
You can download a fact sheet about the event here: CofS_HalfTheSkyDocumentaryFlyer_FINAL. And register your viewing parties here. A toolkit to assist with marketing and leading discussions will be distributed to all contacts who register their event prior to the viewing. Make the choice, take a chance, be the change!