"Women hold up half the sky" - says a Chinese proverb. In fact, the reports by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn show that poor women often endure hell. The most common human rights violations of our time are directed against girls and women. We know this and, unfortunately, find ourselves unable to change it. Really? This book demonstrates that effective action is possible, every day, even among us. It tells the stories of women who have not given up, despite being sold and degraded as sex slaves, raped and mutilated as a display of power by warriors, and denied education and a self-determined life. These are stories of women who did not passively endure their fate, but sought help, took initiative, or simply fought back.