Wednesday, February 02, 2011

 

Introduction Summaries

Post your summaries of the introduction to Half the Sky here. 250 words is long enough. Try to stay within that limit. No more than 500 words.

Comments:
Eleanore Johnston 1 Johnston English 1A 9-10PM
02/02/2011


Half the Sky Introduction Summary

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn started with an introduction bringing up many issues regarding treatment of woman around the world. It began with the story of Rath a beautiful Cambodian girl with a horrific story. When Rath was 15 she decided to go, with a few friends, to work as a dishwasher in Thailand, to help her family with money. They quickly discovered that they were tricked into working in a brothel in Kaula Lampur, the capital of Malaysia. She was repeatedly beaten and raped until she escaped one day, just to find herself in the same position in a different brothel. Once she finally escaped from the second brothel she managed to get herself back home to Cambodia where she met a social worker who lined her up with a job bartering in Poipet. The introduction then goes on to talk about the misfortune of baby girls in China where they have a ban on determining the sex of a fetus through an ultrasound. Unfortunately, this only seems to cause more female infant mortality. Since in China it is unlucky to birth a girl they pay more attention to their male children who can carry on the family name. As if that was not enough bad new the authors then proceed to speak of the “Bride Burnings” in India. This is were a woman is burned to death for an inadequate dowry or so a man can remarry. Similarly in Pakistan 5,000 women and children have been engulfed in flames or burned with acid for being “Perceived disobedience”. Finally, the introduction comes to a close with the important topic of finances. The authors speak of the overwhelming evidence that female education is a wise investment and the solution to most debt in developing countries.
 
Kimber Soriano
Professor Sabir
English 201A
2 Feb. 2011

Intro of Half the Sky is about a Cambodian teeanager girl Srey Rath who was sold into brothel told her story how she managed to escape. She was fifteen when her family had no money and she had to work to pay for their bills and needs. She worked as a dishwasher in Thailand for only two months. She decided to go along with four friends who had been given promised jobs in the restaurant. But Rath and two other girls were kidnapped by gangsters inside a karaoke bar. She was sent to their boss and and he locked her up with a customer who tried to have force to sex with her. She fought back against her will with the customer trying to rape her but then the customer had just raped her. The boss got angry and punched her in the face because she refused to serve the customers. He said “we will beat you to death” if Rath doesn’t obey his order. Unfortunately the gangsters and the boss raped and beat her. The boss also forced her to take a pill and she took the pill causing her to become weak and unable to snap out of it. She becomes weak and drugged into something she was ordered to do. Rath and the girls were forced to work in the brothel seven days a week and they were kept for the customers satisfaction. The girls could not run away from them because they will kill them. They would beat them to death which they had no choice but to serve them in order to pay their debts. They sometimes get food but not much because the customers don’t like fat girls. The girls were scared that they went to the balcony making through the wobbly board just to go the next building. They saw a police station and went inside. The police shoo them away, and then arrested them for illegal immigration. Rath was put in jail for a year in Malaysia. She thought the police would protect her when she comes back home but the he sold her to the trafficker.

Rath was sold to another Thai brothel within two months where they did not beat her and she was able to escape and go back home to Cambodia. Rath met a social worker, who aid her, as well as she become part of the group that will help girls who had been trafficked to start new life. She had been given $400 by the group of American Assistance for Cambodia to start a new life and she bought a small cart and goods to make business out of it. She found herself at home selling drinks, snacks, and souvenirs with other vendors. She began to work as a saleswoman. She saved and invested her money in making new business and it went successful and she was able to support her parents and her two younger daughters. After that, she married and had a son. She saved money for her son’s future education.
 
Kandace Chao
Professor Sabir
English 201A
4 February 2011

Half the Sky Introduction Summary

In the introduction, the authors first talk about a Cambodian girl named Rath and how she was duped into thinking she was going to work at a Thai restaurant. She was actually led into prostitution. This story leads off into more stories about inequality with woman around the world that does not make news lines.

In China, girls are treated less than boys because of their gender. When someone's son gets sick, they bring them to the hospital immediately, but if their daughter gets sick, they give them a day to recover at home. Also, an instance in India, there's this thing called the "Burning Bride." It's where if the wife does something the husband does not approve of, he pours kerosene on her and lights her up.

It's because of instances like this that are too common, it does not make the news. Statistics show that woman who die because of inequality, and the past U.S. wars; the woman who die because of inequality are more numerous than those who died in war.
 
Angelina Moreno
Professor Sabir
English 201B
3 February 2011
Summary of Half the Sky
In Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book Half the Sky, it brang awareness to the injustices women come across everyday around the globe. The book opens up with a story about a girl named Rath who is determined to help her family. With a new job in a new country(Thailand), everything changes and suddenly becomes a nightmare. Deeper into the intro Rath's story goes on as she is trafficed for sex and so on until she finds the courage toescape. Rath's story opens up for a chance to report about other women around the globe and the crimes they have faced for being who they were born, and that is a woman. Women in other countries are not celebrated, but are treated as if they were vermin. In India, a story is highlighted of a woman who was supposedly a “bad wife”.
Her punishment for being so was a full of kerosine, then lit on fire so her face would be no more.

Women in third world countries are suffering at the hands of men, men who in their eyes are “in charge”. The intro also states that it is not just women;but also young girls and babys that are killed off in order to have 'first born sons'. All these crimes against women, and no one is reporting this, until Nicholas and his wife Sheryl decide to. It was not until the early 90's that these injustices and crimes received recognition. The main point is to let everyone be aware and act upon it, to change thing for the better.
 
Matt Canevaro
Professor Sabor
English 201b
2/6/2011

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn is a book about women, and how they are treated and viewed across the world. It starts off with the story of a woman named Srey Rath. A cambodian girl whos been through a lot and who has sufferd the worst treatment imaginable. Her story starts off with her being kidnapped by gangsters in Thailand and taken to a brothel, where she is forced into being a sex slave. Months later she would escape and go on a journey trying to get back to cambodia where she would meet with a social worker and get her life back on track. Her story however wasnt the only one that caught the attention of the authors, there where hundreds of thousands incidents that go unreported every year. The authors brought to light about all the cases of assualts and kidnappings that never make the headline news. How in China girls are considerd less valued than boys and in India thousands of woman go missing and no one reports it. In the end the story goes back to Rath who currently now runs a street stall and is saving money up for he sons future education.
 
Cherefah Obad
English 1A 8-8:50
Wanda Sabir


Summarie Of The Introduction to

"Half The Sky"
The Introduction to Half the Sky was very intense to say the least. It started out with the authors (Nichoals D. Kristof & Sheryl Wu Dunn)telling the readers a story about a young camodian teenage girl named Srey Rath. Her story starts out with her at the age of fifteen. Her family had income problems. Meaning they had no money. She decided to go and work for a dish washing company in Thailand for approx. two months to help pay for her familys bills. Rath had arranged to meet up with some friends and all go to Thailand together. This so called "job agent" took the girls deep into the heart of Thailand and simply gave them away to gangsters. Rath was then forced into prostitution. Rath was beaten repeatedly if she did not comply with the bosses orders. she eventually fled and was able to escape just to find herself in another brothel. when she eventually escaped the second brothel she met a social worker in cambodia who then gave her a job bartering in Poipet. the intro then continues on talking about how there is a ban in China that makes it against the law to determine the sex of a baby through an ultrasound. And the bad thing about this is that it causes more female mortality. they also spoke about how if a family has a sick boy and a sick girl, that the sick boy would get seen by a doctor and the sick girl just suffers until she gets better. I find this book very interesting. Its sort of like a car crash. You're sort of drawn to it and you cant look away even if what your seeing is so gruesome. All in all, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this book and the stories in it.
 
Rosita Contreras
Professor Sabir
English 201B
6 February 2011

Summary of Half the Sky Introduction

In the beginning of the introduction the authors talk about a girl named Srey Rath who is a Cambodian teenager that has black hair. When she was fifteen her family ran out of money and she worked as a dishwasher in Thailand for two months. Then a gangster known as “the boss” paid money for her and other girls. They had to repay him by having sex with men they did not know and they could not ask them to wear a condom. They gave her a pill called “the happy drug” or “the shake drug”. They would give them food but not too much because the customers do not like fat girls. Until one night they escaped and went to a police station. Rath served a year in prison for being illegal. Then a Malaysian policeman sold her to a trafficker. Also they talked about that in China thirty nine thousand baby girls annually because their parents don’t give them the same medical care and attention as boys receive. In India a “bride burning” to eliminate her so a man can remarry takes place once every two hours. Also about 107 million females are missing from the globe today. Every year at least 2 million girls worldwide disappear because of gender discrimination. An Afghan named Sedan Shan had a wife and a son sick, but his priority was to save the son. Then they talk about Rath again and she got to escape and go back to Cambodia. She became a saleswoman selling shirts, hats, costume jewelry, notebooks, pens, and small toys. Then she got married and had a son.
 
Dina Jayne Maghanoy
Ms. Wanda Sabir
English 201B
7 February 2011

Half The Shy by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the introduction talks about the brutality inflicted on women and girls around the world. Women are also kidnapped and trafficked into brothels were they was forced to have sex and beaten to death if they did not obey. This is a story about a Cambodian teenager name Srey Rath who is a family oriented person. At the age of fifteen Rath family was struggling with money, so she offers to help her family by working at a Thai restaurant with four other girls. What she did not know was that they were being sold to a gangsters who took them to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia a place she was not familiar with. Rath worked at a Karaoke lounge were she was forced to have sex with a customer and if she did not cooperated, then the boss along with other gangsters raped her. The girls worked seven days a week and fifteen hours a day. They were also naked most of the time because the boss did not want them to escape or steal money from the customers. Rath along with other girls escape one night with a five-inch-wide board from a rack used for dying clothes. As soon as the four girls escaped they looked for a police station where they was arrested for illegal immigrant laws. Rath was later sold again to a trafficker who sold her to a Thai brothel. She then escaped once more and return back to Cambodia where she met a social worker who sent her to a group aid that deals with girls who been trafficked. Rath was given $400 in donated funds were she bought a small cart with goods in it. She then later sold the good to travelers crossing Thailand and Cambodia, therefore her business started to grow. She was able to buy more merchandise to sell, and she now was able to help her family. Rath started a new life where she got married and had a son, she even saved enough money for education.
 
Name- Manisha Shrestha
Professor Sabir
Eng 201B
Feb 7,2011


Summary of the Introduction of Half The Sky
In the reading Half the Sky, Nicholas D. Krisof and Sheryl WuDunn express their concerns through journalism. In “the girl effect” reading many issues were brought up throughout the reading. Such as prostitution in foreign countries for under aged girls. More specifically in China baby girls die because of unfair medical treatment due to sexism. In India and Pakistan sexism is practiced also, they practice what is called “ bride burning” for insufficient dowry. In China women are kidnapped and thrown into brothers. In Rath's forced prostitution case there have been many incidents that take place just as her. Prostitution is also practiced in China today, 100,000 girls were kidnapped and trafficked into brothels. Not only do the journalist introduce these topics but a tiny of the U.S foreign aid get involved. Most of the women abuse cases occur among the poor nations. There is also forced proposition in American cities. Foreign women are also trafficked in America as well. In India boys are medically treated and vaccinated more so than the girls. Since the use of ultrasound technology it has changed birth rates in foreign countries with gender practices. Women die in the masses due to "gendercide" . Although all of this is taking place women development practices have also been established. Many organizations have been developed to help this cause. All of these issues that were discussed took me to surprise. Many current issues that are going on around the world are hardly addressed here in the United States. There should been more actions in regulating this. It is very sad knowing all of these things take place in foreign countries around the world. I personally felt that this reading was beneficial and I learned a lot of current issues that I was unaware of and hope that these issues are addressed more and resolve as soon as possible.
 
Marcela Gutierrez
Professor Sabir
English 201A
2 February 2011

As I began to read the introduction to Half the Sky and the authors introduced Srey Rath, a Cambodian teenager who was tricked into the illegal trafficking market of young women, whom were being forced into prostitution immediately grabbed my attention. As they went more into detail of how the brothels were ran and how so many young girls were beaten, raped, drugged and taken advantage of for such a disgusting business made me so angry and sad because the authors made clear that this is a serious issue that gets very little global attention. In various countries throughout Asia and Africa, girls and women of all ages seem like if they can’t use their vaginas for sex or to bear a boy into the family then they are treated as if they are good as dead. It’s brutally clear how gender discrimination plays out in countries like India, Cambodia, and Thailand for example and the fact that the female population gets little to no attention for health related reasons being compared to males. If a female within the household is sick she would never be rushed to the hospital for immediate medical attention, but if a male has fallen ill, than medical attention and medication would without a doubt be gotten for them. Towards the end of the introduction it is clear what main topics will be looked upon in all relation to the abuse that women encounter in different countries of the world. Us as the audience reading these horrific real life events that women suffer on a daily gives us the grand opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others because as the authors said, “We have seen that outsiders can truly make a significant difference.” (p. xxi)
 
Name- Manisha Shrestha
Professor Sabir
English 201B
7 February,2011


Summary of the Introduction of Half The Sky
In the reading Half the Sky, Nicholas D. Krisof and Sheryl WuDunn express their concerns through journalism. In “the girl effect” reading many issues were brought up throughout the reading. Such as prostitution in foreign countries for under aged girls. More specifically in China baby girls die because of unfair medical treatment due to sexism. In India and Pakistan sexism is practiced also, they practice what is called “ bride burning” for insufficient dowry. In China women are kidnapped and thrown into brothers. In Rath's forced prostitution case there have been many incidents that take place just as her. Prostitution is also practiced in China today, 100,000 girls were kidnapped and trafficked into brothels. Not only do the journalist introduce these topics but a tiny of the U.S foreign aid get involved. Most of the women abuse cases occur among the poor nations. There is also forced proposition in American cities. Foreign women are also trafficked in America as well. In India boys are medically treated and vaccinated more so than the girls. Since the use of ultrasound technology it has changed birth rates in foreign countries with gender practices. Women die in the masses due to "gendercide" . Although all of this is taking place women development practices have also been established. Many organizations have been developed to help this cause. All of these issues that were discussed took me to surprise. Many current issues that are going on around the world are hardly addressed here in the United States. There should been more actions in regulating this. It is very sad knowing all of these things take place in foreign countries around the world. I personally felt that this reading was beneficial and I learned a lot of current issues that I was unaware of and hope that these issues are addressed more and resolve as soon as possible.
 
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