Half the Sky

by

Nicholas Kristof

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Half the Sky makes teaching easy.

Usha Narayane Character Analysis

Usha Narayane is a woman from the Indian slum Kasturba Nagar. Usha combatted the mobster Akku Yadav, whose gang used rape and sexual humiliation as a way to control people in the slum. Incredibly brave, Usha is an example of a woman who took the risk of defying expectations of female docility to the benefit of her whole community.

Usha Narayane Quotes in Half the Sky

The Half the Sky quotes below are all either spoken by Usha Narayane or refer to Usha Narayane. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Oppression of Women  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

‘Empowerment’ is a cliché in the aid community, but it is truly what is needed. The first step toward greater justice is to transform that culture of female docility and subservience, so that women themselves become more assertive and demanding. As we said earlier, that is, of course, easy for outsiders like us to say: We’re not the ones who run horrible risks for speaking up. But when a woman does stand up, it’s imperative that outsiders champion her; we also must nurture institutions to protect such people.

Related Characters: Nicholas D. Kristof (speaker), Sheryl WuDunn (speaker), Usha Narayane, Akku Yadav, Goretti Nyabenda
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Half the Sky LitChart as a printable PDF.
Half the Sky PDF

Usha Narayane Quotes in Half the Sky

The Half the Sky quotes below are all either spoken by Usha Narayane or refer to Usha Narayane. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Oppression of Women  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

‘Empowerment’ is a cliché in the aid community, but it is truly what is needed. The first step toward greater justice is to transform that culture of female docility and subservience, so that women themselves become more assertive and demanding. As we said earlier, that is, of course, easy for outsiders like us to say: We’re not the ones who run horrible risks for speaking up. But when a woman does stand up, it’s imperative that outsiders champion her; we also must nurture institutions to protect such people.

Related Characters: Nicholas D. Kristof (speaker), Sheryl WuDunn (speaker), Usha Narayane, Akku Yadav, Goretti Nyabenda
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis: