Wangari's Words to Live By . The women formed an important constituency of this work which politicians could not ignore. But as painful as it was, it seems to have given Maathai a measure of latitude to pursue her interests and achieve success as an activist. Maathai had the unique opportunity of going to school when girls in her age group were typically not given the opportunity of doing so. Upon her divorce, her ex-husband insisted that she drop his surname. Two years into their marriage, she attained her PhD, which accelerated her career in academia. Interviews held on various dates in 2018 and 2019 with Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Rev. 2003), detailed the history of the organization. The Ndegwa Report of 1971 legitimized such practices.46 These practices tended to concentrate wealth and power among few elites, predominantly from one ethnic group. University of Nairobi Research Archive, Citation on Professor Wangari Muta Maathai on her Conferment of the Honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai . In 1955, people were moved to concentration villages to pacify the region and to sever access to vital supply lines and community support that had supported the resistance fighters.18 It was in the context of the Mau Mau freedom struggle that Maathai received her education at St. Cecilia Intermediate Primary School and later Loreto High School, Limuru. There was an aspect of independence in the women Maathai associated with. Maathai is still remembered for her determined and persistent efforts to safeguard Uhuru Park and the Karura Forest for future generations, for her solidarity with mothers of political detainees, as well as her relentless efforts for peace and to end election-related violence in the Rift Valley region and in the country since 1992 when multiparty politics were allowed. This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Wangari Maathai, and supports the standard of individuals' achievements and contributions to environmental preservation. It thus became a critical constituency for experimenting with new ideas. The impact of changes in rural Kenya was complicated by emerging corruption among Kenyas elite. This conspicuous trajectory rendered her quite visible and a target of concern by the authoritarian state and political system.32, Upon Maathai being elected chairperson in 1980, the largest member organization in the council, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, withdrew its membership. 11. Wangari Maathai Lesson Plan: Individual's Contributions Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8 *Click to open and customize your own copy of the Wangari Maathai Lesson Plan . Although seen by some as an ill-advised move, in retrospect it proved a boon for the development of the GBM and the career of Maathai in environmental advocacy. The first attempt in 1982 was blocked; in the 1997 attempt, she failed to secure a seat. Maathai's atypical and yet symbolic biography draws on two primary texts: Wangari Maathai's (2006), Unbowed: A Memoir . Fresh Air Weekend Fresh Air Weekend: NPR host Mary Louise Kelly; Josh Groban. Political activist and environmentalist Wangari Maathai was trained to be a leader. Primary Sources. Maathai was shaped by her rural environmentin which she lived on her mothers farmas well as her missionary education and later, by her education in the United States and Germany. 31. Most people think of Ms. Maathai as an environmentalist, planting trees. Historian G. Muriuki refers to this early mixing of ethnic groups in The History of the Kikuyu, 15001900 (Nairobi, Kenya: Oxford University Press, 1974). The United Nations (UN) conferences in the 70s provided the base for global debates on environment and equality for women that dominated the rest of the 20th century and beyond. The list of supporterswomen, men, and institutions in Kenya and elsewherewould be long. 12. Wangari Maathai, in full Wangari Muta Maathai, (born April 1, 1940, Nyeri, Kenyadied September 25, 2011, Nairobi), Kenyan politician and environmental activist who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace, becoming the first Black African woman to win a Nobel Prize. She observed: Working for justice and freedom is often a lonely and dispirited business. I'm very conscious of the fact that you can't do it alone. As a result of the movements activism, similar initiatives were begun in other African countries, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. 21. Roland Hoksbergen and Lowell M. Ewert (Monrovia, CA: World Vision International, 2002). It was an area populated by the Gikuyu people who lived in scattered homesteads around which they cultivated food crops and kept livestock.1 British settlers engaged in large-scale farming within the district, while colonial administrators entrenched colonial rule. The accompanying population explosion also meant more people needed to be fed, educated, and their various needs provided for. Maendeleo ya Wanawake, an organization for the progress of women, started during the colonial period, was dedicated to support the welfare of African women, but in the postcolonial period became a vehicle for the participation of women in development. Under the auspices of the NCWK, the GBM, with limited donor funding, gradually evolved into a platform to educate and empower rural communities and Kenyans in general. Wanyiri Kihoro, Never Say Die: The Chronicle of a Political Prisoner (Nairobi, Kenya: East African Education Publishers, 1998). Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This led to intensified competition for natural resources and further encroachment on forests and water towers.43. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. As an alternative, she chose to further her education, which led to a doctorate in the field of veterinary science from the University of Giessen, a first for an eastern African woman, for which she was widely recognized. 42. In the following year, despite political and ethnic maneuvers, she was elected to the position of chairperson and re-elected repeatedly until 1987, when she retired from the position. In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a non-governmental organization, which encourages women to plant trees to combat deforestation and environmental degradation. Member organizations were usually part of a countrywide network that resonated with concerns of grassroots women. Wangari Maathai, The Challenge for Africa: A New Vision (London: William Heinemann, 2009); on culture, 160183; and on mother tongues, 220226. Her time in academia gave her opportunities to engage in voluntary community activities that were not strictly academic, although regarded as part of university community service. Her position at the university also opened opportunities to venture into other fields of service and leadership for which she was to become well known in addition to her academic pursuits. This affinity with the soil became a great asset when she led tree-planting campaigns. It also gave her increased international exposure which provided some degree of political protection and a platform to highlight issues related to the environment. At that time, she was working as an assistant lecturer at the University College, Nairobi. With Maathais guidance, the program went from a series of local womens activities into a national and international phenomenon. 54. Once again finding her options limited, she went on to pursue a doctorate from the University of Giessen in Germany. Maendeleo ya Wanawake was such a grassroots organization established during the colonial period and after independence had developed a countrywide network of grassroots affiliates.30. These changes started with the alienation of large tracts of land for white settlement at the onset of British colonialism. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Dr. Samuel Kobia, Annetta Miller, Harold Miller, Ms. Lillian W. Mwaura, Mr. Joshua S. Muiru, Ms. Njeri Muhoro, Prof. Gideon Cyrus Mutiso, and Mr. Titus K. Muya. In the midst of enormous challenges and obstacles, she created a formidable Green Belt Movement (GBM) to empower grassroots women. That the GBM withstood and survived harassment from the government of Kenya and its security apparatuses was a testimony to the strength and capacity of these networks. Kiraitu Murungi, In the Mud of Politics (Nairobi, Kenya: Acacia Stantex Publishers, 2000), 110 and 185187. She challenged this in court, but her petition was dismissed. Kenyan politician and environmental activist Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2004 for her involvement in "sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights, and women's rights in particular." She became the first Black African woman to achieve such an honor. The experience of discrimination at the Department of Zoology led Maathai to look for opportunities elsewhere. Professor Wangari Muta Maathai was born to Muta Njugi and his wife Wanjiru Muta in Nyeri, Kenya on 1st April 1940. stream Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Characteristically, Maathai turned this misfortune into an opportunity which in the final analysis worked for the good of the GBM and her work with the NCWK. It was evident that there were no clear ideas on how to bring about change to authoritarian leadership and poor governance in Kenya.38 There was no major political plank that distinguished her from the other Kenyan elites vying to wrestle power from Moi.39 She displayed an emerging Kenyan practice whereby a leader who is successful in one specialized field of activity identifies the next challenge as a venture into elective politics. Agricultural cooperatives were established in rural areas to ensure that quality agricultural commodities were produced and marketed. Aid agencies distrusted state actors and channeled more resources to nonstate actors.56. Unbowed: A Memoir . But as land consolidation and registration went on in central Kenya, it was men who were registered as owners, although it was women who cultivated the land. The impact of these policies was felt mostly in the 60s and 70s as landless poor were settled, necessitating the cutting of trees on small-scale farms and reducing forest cover in districts like Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Nyandarua, Laikipia, and Kirinyaga. She also became a keen and influential player in the spectrum of international conferences.51, Maathais life was intricately related to the predicament of women. << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1638 >> 22 0 obj Working for the GBM widened her horizons and provided a canvas upon which Maathai painted her broad vision for sustainable development, peace, democracy, gender equality, and grassroots empowerment in Kenya and Africa.