Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Nicholas Kristof, won't betalking about my friend Nonkululeko when he addresses the Westminster Town HallForum in Minneapolis this week.Although he has never met Nonkululeko, nor her daughter or granddaughter, Mr.Kristof is very familiar with the life stories like those of these threegenerations of South African women. His columns in the New York Times and his new book, with co-author Sheryl WuDunn, "Half the Sky: Turning Oppressioninto Opportunity for Women Worldwide" resonates withwhat I have seen in my work with people with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Nonkululeko is the granny of this one South African familythat I have gotten to know so well. She rarely talks about the day in the 1960swhen her family was removed from their home near Cape Townand resettled to a black township. The national policy of apartheid ensured thatNonkululeko would not receive an education, nor would she have access to anykind of a job that might propel her family out of poverty. Nonkululeko'sdaughter, Thandi, would come of age later in a democratic South Africa; but patriarchal systems made itdifficult for Thandi to negotiate safe sexual practices with her partner. Itwasn't long before she tested positive for HIV. Like her mother, Thandi alsogave birth to a daughter – Thembisa. Thembisa, born HIV-negative, was a healthy,normal girl until, at the age of eight, she was raped by a neighbor. The lack of educational opportunities for girls and women,grinding poverty, an inability to make decisions about their bodies and rape,are just part of the systems of injustice that are oppressing women all overthe world. In "Half the Sky" Kristof and WuDunn document cases similar to those experienced by Nonkululeko and her family,but they go much further – exposing inadequate medical care for women, policiesthat block family planning and the brutality of sexual slavery and honorkillings. They strongly make the case for the premise of their book: "...thatin this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for genderequality in the developing world." Lest you think that there is nothing that can be done toaddress these overwhelming systemic challenges, Kristof and WuDunn highlightthe work of phenomenal people around the world who, with a little support and againstall odds, are challenging long held beliefs and traditions and are dramaticallyimproving the lives of girls and women – and subsequently everyone else. And,lest you think there is nothing that each one of us can do, the co-authorsclearly state their intent in the introduction of the book to recruit us "tojoin an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty..."Don't know how to do that? The last two chapters titled: "What You Can Do" and"Four Steps You Can Take in the Next Ten Minutes" make it easy to join themovement. It has been nearly a decade since I first met Nonkululekoand her family in South Africa.Granny, daughter and granddaughter continue to live together and struggle tofind jobs, food and health care. The family's future lies with young Thembisastaying healthy and getting a good education. "Half the Sky" reminded me thatthere is much I need to do in the struggle for gender equality. I start bysending money to South Africato pay for Thembisa's school fees. Nicholas Kristof willspeak at the Westminster Town Hall Forum on Thursday, October 8 at noon. Admission is free. www.westminstertownhallforum.org.