W2W - Read
Books & Articles
We're constantly updating this list of great books/articles which we think help to explore the big issues around poverty as well as what the Bible has to say about the importance of taking action and speaking out...
Your Call - what you need to know
Conflict, Coltan, and the Link with Sexual Violence
Silent Victims
If you are a girl in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, you are living in the most dangerous place on earth. Every hour, a woman or girl is sexually abused (this number is a conservative estimate). Rape is a brutal weapon of war in this impoverished African nation that has suffered from conflict and war for over 15 years.
Whatever the causes of the fighting, a terrible price is paid by women. Unfortunately, victims are often ostracised by their communities. 30% of women and girls raped are infected with HIV and about 15% suffer from fistula. Girls as young as 12 are captured and subjected to terrible abuse. We can hardly comprehend the long-term physical and psychological trauma.
Despite the horror of this war, its victims are largely forgotten and its perpetrators avoid justice. And too often, the church has remained silent when it should speak out.
Overcoming violence
2 Samuel 13 is a difficult passage - you never hear sermons preached on the rape of Tamar. What does the story tells us about women, men, power and sin?10 Lies the Church Tells Women
A provocative title but the book by J. Lee Grady is strong on substance as well, tackling Bible texts that have been used and abused by the church to deny women leadership and an equal role in marriage, church and family. Each chapter looks at a "lie", e.g. 'women must submit to their husbands in all situations'; 'women should not be leaders in the church', and there are discussion questions as well.
7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership
For the first time in modern history, God is placing women in strategic positions of influence and leadership within the church, public, corporate, charity and voluntary sectors, in unprecedented numbers. Women are called to flourish in these arenas. However, there are significant external and internal issues that hinder women in leadership in unique ways. In the 7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership, Kate Coleman considers what lies at the root of the many challenges facing women leaders and discusses ways of dealing with them.
Half the Sky
Read “Half the Sky” by Nicholas D Kristoff and Sheryl Wu Dunn. A passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.
Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.
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