Watch: Half the Sky

Friends, you need to watch Half the Sky. It's based on Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book, which you may have read or heard about. It's a documentary film that aired on PBS this Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully we were able to watch episode one last night online. We'll watch episode two tonight. (I've included the links below.)

There are so many things I could say about the film. The whole time we watched, I had a sick feeling in my stomach, thinking about Adair or Ingrid living in a similar situation. It breaks my heart that so many young girls have their childhood and future stolen from them, all for the sake of "running a business." I also thought how helpless and small I feel in a situation as huge and awful as this one. But then I remembered that I do have a voice.

If you have some time today, please watch it. Share it with friends. Have your gang over to watch it with you. It is important that we know about this crisis. And it is even more important that we do something about it. The first step is in the watching. Are you with me?

From the Half the Sky website: 

The Half the Sky Movement is cutting across platforms to ignite the change needed to put an end to the oppression of women and girls worldwide, the defining issue of our time. Inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book of the same name, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide brings together video, websites, games, blogs and other educational tools to not only raise awareness of women's issues, but to also provide concrete steps to fight these problems and empower women. Change is possible, and you can be part of the solution.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide includes a four-hour television series for PBS and international broadcast, shot in 10 countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the U.S. Traveling with intrepid reporter Nicholas Kristof and A-list celebrity advocates America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde, the series introduces women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable — and fighting bravely to change them. Their intimate, dramatic and immediate stories of struggle reflect viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offer an actionable blueprint for transformation. The series will premiere in the United States Oct. 1 and 2, 2012, with international broadcast to follow. 

Episode one can be found here.

Episode two can be found here. 

Hurry! They are only available for a week from their air date. 

Again, there is something we can do. We can do it together, today.

-Lacy