Nonfiction

Lately, I have been reading a great deal of nonfiction. This is a new genre for me as I typically read historical fiction or Victorian literature. However, over the past few months I have been reading books lent to me by a woman I teach with, Wendy, and she is a lover of nonfiction. The two books above, by Greg Mortenson, have opened my eyes to another part of the world, while at the same time affirming some of the beliefs I have had for years. Both books give an in depth account of Greg's efforts at bringing education to the children, especially girls, in Pakistan and Afghanistan, two very misunderstood places. I would like to quote two sections from these books that have touched me and helped me to realize my own importance as a daughter of God, and the importance of women all across the globe.

"Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cites. But the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they've learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls." -Three Cups of Tea

"Simply put, young women are the single biggest potential agents of change in the developing world- a phenomenon that is sometimes referred to as the Girl Effect and that echoes and African proverb I heard during my childhood years in Tanzania: 'If you teach a boy, you educate an individual; but if you teach a girl, you educate a community.' No other factor even comes close to matching the cascade of positive changes triggered by teaching a single girls how to read and write. In military parlance, a girls' education is a 'force multiplier'-and in impoverished Muslim societies, the ripple effects of female literacy can be profound."-Stones into Schools

These books have chapters dedicated to the importance of educating women, full of interesting facs and stories. I could quote many passages from these books that touched my heart and caused me to ponder late into the night, but I will allow you to read them for yourselves. To learn more, read these two wonderful books, or visit the Cnetral Asia Institute website http://www.ikat.org/.