Champion of Choice: The Life and Legacy of Women's Advocate Nafis Sadik

by Cathleen Miller

Overview

Not many women can claim to have changed history, but Nafis Sadik set that goal in her youth, and change the world she did. Champion of Choice tells the remarkable story of how Sadik, born into a prominent Indian family in 1929, came to be the world’s foremost advocate for women’s health and reproductive rights, the first female director of a United Nations agency, and “one of the most powerful women in the world” (London Times).

An obstetrician, wife, mother, and devout Muslim, Sadik has been a courageous and tireless advocate for women, insisting on discussing the difficult issues that impact their lives: education, contraception, abortion, as well as rape and other forms of violence. After Sadik joined the fledgling UN Population Fund in 1971, her groundbreaking strategy for providing females with education and the tools to control their own fertility has dramatically influenced the global birthrate. This book is the first to examine Sadik’s contribution to history and the unconventional methods she has employed to go head-to-head with world leaders to improve millions of women’s lives.

Interspersed between the chapters recounting Sadik’s life are vignettes of females around the globe who represent her campaign against domestic abuse, child marriage, genital mutilation, and other human rights violations. With its insights into the political, religious, and domestic battles that have dominated women’s destinies, Sadik’s life story is as inspirational as it is dramatic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803211049
Publisher:	Nebraska
Publication date:	03/01/2013
Pages:	536
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Cathleen Miller circled the globe to interview the sources for this book. Her previous work includes the international bestseller Desert Flower, a tale of female genital mutilation that has been translated into fifty-five languages and adapted as a feature film. Miller’s travel essays have appeared in numerous publications including the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. She teaches creative writing at San José State University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Introduction xi

1 Birth 1

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Zadia Birru 15

2 Welcoming the Girls 21

Bhanwargarh, India Nargis Ansari 38

3 Azhar 42

Berkeley, United States Chanti Prattipati 53

4 Karachi 60

Manhea, Ghana Dora Chemenu 77

5 The Wedding 83

Narok, Kenya Angela Karogo 99

6 Doctor's Orders 104

Tetral, Pakistan Rubima Javed 117

7 Mothers 122

St. Petersburg, Russia Natasha Bankov 133

8 Family Planning 138

Mexico City, Mexico Vianca Ivonne Huerta Garcia 162

9 The Un 166

Tibar, East Timor Ermelinda da Silva Ximenes 193

10 The Director 197

Buenos Aires, Argentina Juliana Di Tullio 244

11 The Vatican 249

La Paz, Bolivia Teresa Lanza 290

12 Cairo 295

Cairo, Egypt Mona Daoud 339

13 Beijing 346

Beijing, China Wang Lijuan 374

14 Back Home 379

Pristina, Kosovo Sevdie Ahmeti 402

15 On the Ground 411

Bangkok, Thailand Jintana Dahkling 431

16 Onward 437

Epilogue 464

Acknowledgments 465

Notes and Sources 467

Index 479

What People are Saying About This

Kofi Annan

“Dr. Sadik’s invaluable contribution to improving maternal and child health deserves the gratitude of millions of people around the world.”—Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

Mary Robinson

“Nafis Sadik is an inspiration to women and girls worldwide through her tireless commitment to women’s empowerment and her understanding of the central importance of reproductive health.”—Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former United Nations high commissioner for human rights

Editorial Reviews

Essayist and creative writing teacher Miller (Desert Flower) offers an intimate, exhaustive biography of Nafis Sadik, a woman from an upper-class Indian family who became a physician and would eventually pioneer women’s health and welfare rights around the world. By the time of her retirement, at age 70, as head of the UNFPA, Sadik was the top ranking woman in the United Nations. While lauded as efficient and unendingly energetic, Miller also reveals Sadik’s warts, including difficulties in adjusting to the U.S. and an estrangement from one of her daughters. Sadik was an enigma, a female physician who had to navigate the male-dominated ways and means of medicine. Yet just when her reluctant admirers would consider her "one of the boys… she would sneak out to go shopping." Interspersed with Sadik’s biographical information are brief but powerful sketches about individual women’s struggles to avoid traditional circumcision practices, obtain sex education about HIV/AIDS, or avoid sexual exploitation. The vignettes are interesting but they rarely have a direct tie back to Sadik, weakening what is already an information-laden book. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Nafis Sadik is a woman who set out to "change the world"—and in many ways she did just that."—Diane Brandley, New York Journal of Books

New York Journal of Books - Diane Brandley

“Cathleen Miller’s Champion of Choice is a rigorous yet eloquent account of Dr. Sadik’s inspirational career, and a beautiful and long-awaited tribute to one of the greatest women’s advocates of the twentieth century. The issues to which Dr. Sadik has so passionately dedicated her life are becoming only more salient as our global community strives to protect both our people and our planet, and Dr. Sadik will certainly remain an invaluable and unequaled leader in this field for years to come.”—Ted Turner, UN Foundation Founder and Chairman and Founder of CNN

Ted Turner

“Dr. Sadik’s invaluable contribution to improving maternal and child health deserves the gratitude of millions of people around the world.”—Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

Kofi Annan

“Nafis Sadik is a great leader, one of the world’s most powerful women.”—Carolyn Maloney, U.S. congresswoman

Carolyn Maloney

"Extensively researched, Miller's engrossing biography illuminates Sadik's formidable passion. . . . An indefatigable supporter, tenacious crusader, and powerful proponent of women’s autonomy, Sadik is a hero for all ages and genders."—Carol Haggas, Booklist starred review

Booklist - Carol Haggas

"The truly valuable biographies bring to our attention people whose exemplary lives have somehow escaped public notice. Dr. Nafis Sadik is this sort of person, and Champion of Choice is this kind of book."—Nick Taylor, On the Page

On the Page - Nick Taylor

“Nafis Sadik is an inspiration to women and girls worldwide through her tireless commitment to women’s empowerment and her understanding of the central importance of reproductive health.”—Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former United Nations high commissioner for human rights

Mary Robinson

From Cairo to Washington, Nafis has been a triumphant warrior for women’s rights.” —Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former secretary-general of the United Nations

Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Nafis Sadik has been an exceptional agent of change. She has the passion, stamina, and courage necessary to make a real difference for humanity.”—Gro H. Brundtland, former prime minister to Norway

Gro H. Brundtland

A dense biography of Dr. Nafis Sadik, who changed the world for women through her work on population control. Miller (Creative Writing/San Jose State Univ.; Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad, 1998, etc.) researched Sadik for 10 years to give us this biographical view of the former undersecretary-general and executive director of the U.N. Population Fund. The book follows the improbable path of the Pakistani Sadik through partition, medical school, her early work in local population control and her efforts for the U.N. Population Fund, which she directed for 13 years. Sadik's family "celebrated her femininity, valued her wishes, gave her the same educational opportunities as her brothers, then encouraged her career and independence." She worked passionately against genital mutilation, obstetric fistula and childhood marriage. Through Sadik's tenure at the U.N., the organization was "able to bring respectability to the concept of family planning." She helped set the tone for controlling population growth by empowering women through education and ensuring basic human rights. The apex of Sadik's career was the U.N.'s 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. She outmaneuvered even the Vatican to support reproductive choice for women, brokering consensus for a 20-year plan to address world population and development. Miller intersperses each chapter about Sadik with vignettes of women she met while researching this book. These personal stories introduce us to victims of abuse, persecution, genital mutilation, prostitution and gang rape. The author also uses extensive quotes to bolster her story, but these passages lack concision--as do other parts of the book. Ultimately, it's a thoroughly researched, inspiring story that runs more than 100 pages too long. A long-winded view of a fascinating game-changer.

Kirkus Reviews