Introduction

 

"Far more women and girls are shipped into brothels each year in the early twenty-first century than African slaves were shipped into slave nations each year in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries” (Half the Sky 11). This quote comes from the book Half the Sky, a novel written by anthropologists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, which explores the impact of women in third world countries and how their contributions would be life changing for the developing world if women were encouraged to move away from societal norms of taking care of the home and kids. One topic that is thoroughly discussed is sex trafficking. In developing countries the act of selling daughters, granddaughters, and nieces into brothels in exchange for money has become extremely commonplace. As a result, the girls are stripped of their dignity, their pride, and most importantly, their freedom. The young girls whose virginities are sold to the highest bidder possess rights that are more commonly attributed to slaves than free women. Half the Sky exposes the horrors that young girls are put through in order for their pimps to make money. There are varying degrees of child prostitution in places such as Cambodia, India, China, and parts of Africa; however, in each situation, the girls were forced into a life of submission, and are rarely ever granted the freedom that women deserve. Despite the less than positive subject matter of Half the Sky, the central goal of the book is to show that “women aren’t the problem but the solution. The plight of girls is no more a tragedy than an opportunity” (Half the Sky, xviii). As these girls and young women struggle between freedom and slavery, they provide insight into the strength and determination of women and prove that their skills are a valuable resource for their struggling countries.

The Women

    Many of the girls sold into brothels are sold by adults either in their families or close friends in exchange for money. Rather than allowing the females in the families to make an economic contribution over time, they are interested in a quick fix to get more money immediately. Srey Neth was fourteen or fifteen when Nicholas Kristof saved her from life in a brothel in Cambodia. He had negotiated with her pimp a price and was permitted to do whatever he wanted with her. However, unlike most customers, Kristof helped free her from her life as a prostitute and brought her back to her village. During their conversations Neth told Kristof that one of her “female cousin[s] had taken [her] from their village, telling [her] family that Neth would be selling fruit in Poipet. Once in Poipet, Neth was sold to the brothel and closely guarded” (Half the Sky 36).  For years Neth lived under the close guard of her brothel owners living more like a slave than a free woman. However, once Nicholas freed Neth from her brothel and returned her to her family and village, he left her with a little money, which she used to start her own grocery cart. Since Nicholas’s heroic action, Neth has been an independent and free woman. Unfortunately, not all girls who are freed from the confines of the brothel can survive in the outside world. Srey Momm, another Cambodian girl freed by Kristof, had grown so dependent on methamphetamines to keep her compliant while working as a prostitute. Once free, she found herself unable to overcome her addiction and venturing back to the brothel in order to get her fix. It is extremely difficult for a young girl to escape from life in a brothel once she is sold into the sex trafficking industry. The lifestyle is comparative to slavery; however, freedom is not impossible to achieve. According to Kristof and WuDunn, “many prostitutes are neither acting freely nor enslaved, but living in a world etched in ambiguities somewhere between those two extremes” (Half the Sky 39). Yet the dependency on drugs in order to carry out one’s job as well as the extreme guard, lends the situations of these young girls to be characterized more often as slavery rather than freedom.

Media

  
     Half the Sky has gained the praise of prominent members of today’s society such as Greg Mortenson (author of Three Cups of Tea), George Clooney, and Angelina Jolie. Stating, “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 is not only a supporter of this novel, but he is also huge advocate for human rights around the world. He has even agreed to narrate the documentary of Half the Sky, premiering in October 2012 on PBS (www.halftheskymovement.org). In addition to the supporters of the Half the Sky movement, celebrities are getting involved in the fight against sex trafficking through the “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” campaign started by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. The goal of the campaign is “to create a cultural shift around the implicit societal acceptance of child prostitution, and thus, child sex slavery” (www.demiandashton.org/realmen). These celebrities and countless others including Diane Lane, America Ferrara, Olivia Wilde, and John Legend have brought the issue of child prostitution to the limelight and through their efforts, young girls will hopefully be given the opportunity to go to school and pursue a career rather than work in the brothels. While the girls working as sex slaves may not currently have the freedom to stand up for themselves, stars and other prominent members of society can have an extremely significant impact on their lives and help these girls cross the border from slavery to freedom.

Politics

     Besides activism from celebrities and other concerned citizens who want to aid these innocent girls, many nations have been pressured to enact legislature to protect the rights of these girls. One such act called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 has been a “milestone in raising awareness of international trafficking on the global agenda” (Half the Sky 25). Because of its bipartisan support from politicians including Hillary Clinton (D) and Senator Sam Brownback (R), this act has been one of the most successful across the board, since everyone felt that forced child prostitution is abhorrent. However, not all international policies have had such unabated support; in fact the “legalize-and-regulate” model proved ineffective because the governments in these developing nations are often very poor and as a result the regulation is difficult and “legal brothels tend to attract a parallel illegal business in young girls and forced prostitution” (Half the Sky 26). Furthermore, by making prostitution illegal, the brothels simply moved underground and became more secretive with even less regulation, which in turn became even more dangerous and restrictive for young girls. The lack of sufficient legal constraints against prostitution makes it significantly less likely that girls will be able to escape. Once the girls are innocently sold into the sex market they immediately lose their freedom and are forced to lead lives that parallel the lives of slaves with regards to their lack of human rights. If legislature was more effective, then brothels would be less prevalent and the regulation of these sex houses would prohibit the sale of sex from minors. This legislature and regulation would ultimately allow for these young girls to live a free life full of education and possibilities.