Photos by Mary Lynn Pelican
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Half the Sky Video moves audience to tears
Co-host Jo Szeto (center), her son Gene, and Anne MaCloud.
Some 25 attendees saw six short videos featuring famous Hollywood actresses as they witnessed first hand some of the abuses suffered by women worldwide.
AAUW’s Jo Szeto and Anne MacLoud were hosts of the discussion at the library on Thursday, November 21st from 4 to 6 p.m. She introduced the Half the Sky video based on the book of the same name.
The team that brought you the fabulous program (left to right): Jonathon Sandoe, Jo Szeto, Margery Leonard, Genevieve Angelides, Kris Sandoe, Anne MacLoud, and Florence Silver
This book, a New York Times best seller authored by Sheryl WuDunn and her husband Nicholas Kristof, is the selection of the One Book, One Community team for 2013/14. It was chosen because of its powerful message: the bad news is millions of women the world over are oppressed, the good news is that we can turn their oppression into opportunity by paying attention and acting.
Jo and Anne introduced six segments of the Half the Sky documentary which echoed the messages of the book. Well-known actresses went to several countries and spoke first-hand to women who were oppressed in a variety of troubling ways.
Gene Wang, Jo’s son, handled all technical logistics.
The actresses were: Diane Lane, Meg Ryan, Ava Mendes, America Ferrera, Olivia Wilde and Gabrielle Union. They communicated with girls and women who were kidnapped and forced to be prostitutes; doctors in a hospital who treated victims of female mutilation many of whom died in childbirth; girls who were trafficked into prostitution and yet turned around to prevent others to suffer the same fate; women in poverty who were given small loans to invest in businesses and who became the prime providers for their families; and mothers who sacrificed so much so that their daughters can get an education.
“We need to pay attention,” concluded Jo, “and do something about it.” Her son Gene Wang passed along a website where we can contribute to the cause of bettering the lives of oppressed women (www.halftheskymovement.org).
At the end of the session Gene invited all AAUW members to a Christmas party at his company, People Power, on December 21st from 7 to 11:00 p.m. at Broadway Street in Redwood City.
“Friends of my mom’s are my friends,” concluded Gene with a welcoming smile.