Half the Sky

An unblinking look at one of the seminal moral challenges of our time. This stirring book is at once a savage indictment of gender inequality in the developing world and an inspiring testament to these…

<strong>Khaled Hosseini</strong>, <em>author, The Kite Runner</em>

– Khaled Hosseini, author, The Kite Runner

The stories that Kristof and WuDunn share are as powerful as they are heartbreaking. Their insight into gender issues and the role of women in development inspires hope, optimism, and most importantly,…

– Melinda Gates

Half the Sky is a passionate and persuasive plea to all of us to rise up and say ‘No more!’ to the 17th-century abuses to girls and women in the 21st-century world. This is a book that will pierce…

– Tom Brokaw

If you have always wondered whether you can change the world, read this book. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have written a brilliant call to arms that describes one of the transcendent injustices…

<strong>Fareed Zakaria</strong>, <em>author, The Post-American World</em>

– Fareed Zakaria, author, The Post-American World

It’s impossible to exaggerate the importance of this book about one of the most serious problems of our time: the worldwide abuse and exploitation of women. In addition to describing the injustices,…

– Anne Rice

I think it’s impossible to stand by and do nothing after reading Half the Sky. It does what we need most, it bears witness to the sheer cruelty that mankind can do to mankind.

– George Clooney

Women facing poverty, oppression, and violence are usually viewed as victims. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky shows that unimaginable challenges are often met with breathtaking bravery.…

– Angelina Jolie

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PBS Series

Women aren’t the problem, they’re the solution.

Empowering women and girls is the most effective way to fight poverty and extremism.

In 2009, with the acclaimed bestselling book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (already in its 24th printing in hardback alone), Pulitzer-Prize award-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn took on the the fight against the oppression of women and girls worldwide and encouraged readers all over the world to join the burgeoning movement for change. Now, a landmark transmedia project—inspired by Kristof and WuDunn’s work and also entitled HALF THE SKY—promises to amplify the book’s impact. Ignited by a high-profile national PBS television event, and fueled by a host of significant multi-platform initiatives, HALF THE SKY is:

Television: A 4-hour television series for PBS and international broadcast, shot in nine countries.
Game: A cutting-edge social impact game, hosted on Facebook, in which exciting virtual game play triggers corresponding real-world, charitable action.
Mobile Games: Four mobile-based social impact games—addressing the issues of maternal health, sex trafficking, domestic violence and gender norms—for distribution to millions of cell phones in India, Kenya and Tanzania.
Web: Two linked websites, one here and one housed on PBS.org, which will feature new and original content as well as continually updated blogs, reports, live dialogues and connectivity to both our funders and to more than 50 partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Video Modules: More than 20 short advocacy and educational videos on a variety of issues, designed in partnership with HTS partner NGOs and intended to be used by them to engage constituencies/communities, local governments and opinion leaders on key gender issues.