Last week I blogged about Tonic.com’s recap of the 13 new CGI commitments to empower women. In keeping with the spirit of female empowerment, I had to mention the new book by NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn called “Half the Sky” which is described as “a passionate call to arms against our eras most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. Check out the book trailer:

I have yet to read the book, but wow is that video powerful and the book is getting excellent reviews.

And Kristof and WuDunn didn’t just write about oppression, they took action and have created the Half the Sky Movement which, as they explain on their site:

lays out an agenda for the world’s women and three major abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence including honor killings and mass rape; maternal mortality, which needlessly claims one woman a minute…we hope to recruit you to join an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts. It is a process that transforms bubbly teenage girls from brothel slaves into successful businesswomen. You can help accelerate change if you’ll just open your heart and join in.

If you’ve read the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I’ll be sure to post my review of the book once I read it. (Considering I have a pile of about 15 must-read books on my shelf, be patient, it may take me a while).