Professor Wangari maathai is one of the most celebrated African women in the world due to her contributions towards environmental conservation and fight for human rights in her country.
Dr. Wangari Maathai was born in 1940 in Nyeri district, Kenya, Africa. She is a political as well as an environmental activist. In the year 2004, she was awarded the Nobel peace prize due to her role in ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.She became the first African woman to be awarded this prize.
During the time when she was nominated for the prize, she was serving as an assistant minister for natural resources and environment in her country Kenya between the years 2003 and 2005. Apart from being a human rights activist, a political activist and an environmentalist, Professor Wangari Maathai is also an author of books like the Green Belt Movement, the unbowed and the challenge for Africa is due for release this year (Maathai, 2007).Bibliography of dr. wangari maathaiDr.
Wangari maathai is an African woman who was born in Kenya, nyeri district in 1940. Republic of Kenya is in the eastern coast of the continent of Africa and it is divided into eight provinces. The home district where maathai was born is the head-quarter of central province. Like all other Kenyans in most parts of Kenya, maathai was born and brought up in a family where the major activity was farming which she says that it taught her to “respect the soil and its bounty”. In those earlier years, women were regarded lowly in the family and education for women was not paramount or considered vital.
However, despite the odds of being a girl child during this time, Wangari was a bright child which made her elder brother to persuade his father to take her to school when she was about seven years.Her performance is school was very good which earned her a scholarship to further her studies in the united states in 1960. She attended Benedictine college which was then known as mount St. Scholastica College which is in Kansas, Atchison.While in this college, maathai studied biology and she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the same in 1964.
In 1966, she attained her master degree in biological sciences in Pennsylvania from the University of Pittsburgh. Maathai claims that her stay in the United States had effect on her especially because during this time, the United States was in war with Vietnam which led to various demonstrations in the country.According to maathai, the Americans demonstrations whereby American citizens were expressing their views concerning this war made her realize and believe in human rights to freedom of expression which she later become an advocate in her own country Kenya (Maathai, 2007).After attaining her masters degree, Maathai returned back to her country that is Kenya where she continued with her studies both in Nairobi (the capital city of Kenya) and in Germany.
In 1971, she was awarded a doctorate degree in anatomy from university of Nairobi making her the first woman in eastern and central Africa to have graduated with a Ph. D. Maathai then became a lecturer in the same university of Nairobi in the faculty of veterinary anatomy as the chair and she was the first woman to have a professorship in this institution.In 1977, dr.
wangari became an associate professor in the same institution and the first woman to hold such a position in the university. In the year 1969, dr. maathai got married to her husband mathai and together they had three children. Mwangi Mathai, her husband was then a politician who later divorced wangari in 1980’s.Mwangi claimed that wangari was difficult to control and also because she was more educated than him. After the divorce, wangari changed her name from mathai to maathai following a court injunction by her former husband (Maathai, 2007).
Professor Maathai while still in Nairobi University involved herself in politics around the year 1976 when she became a member a Kenyan women movement referred to as the Maendeleo ya Wanawake a native language for national council of women of Kenya. This organization was committed to improve the welfare of African women.During this period, the government had introduced cash crop farming for sale and farmers were switching from subsistence farming to coffee and tea farming. This had led to deforestation as people were clearing more land to create room for the new commercial farming.This according to Maathai was damaging the rural life more so that of women since land was no longer as productive and obtaining firewood was becoming impossible.
During this time, firewood was the major energy source in Kenya and deforestation meant that women had to walk for longer distances to look for it.Also, deforestation was reducing vegetation which was usually used for grazing while streams were either being polluted through soil runoffs or drying up. Search for drinking water was thus becoming a problem adding to the suffering of the women (Maathai, 2008).Due to the above problems, dr. maathai introduced tree planting idea to the women’s movement with an aim of conserving the environment.
The tree planting exercise involved the ordinary Kenyans and this exercise led to the emergence of Green Belt Movement in the year 1977 a movement which is still in force in Kenya.This movement is a non governmental organization which is carried out at the grass root level with an aim of conserving environment and it is credited for planting more than 30 million trees in the republic of Kenya which have helped in preventing adverse soil erosion in Kenya.After this initiative of tree planting, professor maathai has been given an affection title of the “Tree Woman” while others refer to her as the “Tree Mother of Africa”. Ever since the introduction of the Green Belt Movement, Dr. Wangari became more involved in the women issues as well as in environment conservation. Maathai served as the chairperson of the women’s council for six years from 1981 to 1987 (Dove, 2008).
Pan African Green Belt Network was established in 1986 which saw more than 40 individuals from different countries in Africa being introduced to Green Belt activities which were being practiced in Kenya. Several African countries adopted such movements to aid in conserving the environment and among the countries which have fully launched this initiative in Africa include Uganda, Tanzania, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Malawi.Apart from spearheading the green belt movement of planting trees, professor maathai launched the jubilee 2000 which a coalition of different African countries which is campaigning for cancellation of backlog debts which are unpayable incurred by poor and developing countries. She has also been actively campaigning against grabbing of land by the government officials in Kenya as well as rapacious forest land allocation by politicians.
Such efforts to conserve the ecosystems and fight corruption have been captured globally.The Green Belt Movement program made maathai to be awarded the global 500 award as well as the subsequent noble peace prize. By the year 2005, the Green Belt Movement which is spearheaded by wangari maathai had reached North American as well as over 15 countries in Africa and this movement is still growing with an aim of reaching most parts of the world (Maathai & Green Belt Movement (Society: Kenya), 2004).Apart from planting trees, the women’s council movement also had other functions which it was carrying out during this time. The tree planting exercise created jobs for women which led to power shift especially as women began to realize they were not less equal than their counter part males.Women started to take greater control towards their future and those of their children especially the girl child who was neglected during this period.
Husband oppression was slowly being rejected and eradicated in Kenya through the initiative of the Green Belt Movement.Also, with some support from the council of women, wangari maathai also established systems which were aimed at helping Kenyan women to get educations in matters regarding family planning, leadership development and nutrition. Also, Maathai introduced a food security program which was campaigning for the reintroduction of originally produced crops in most parts of central Kenya. Kitchen gardens which were being used for family use were also established.
However, due to her great influence especially due the Green Belt Movement, maathai was always at conflict with the then government. Wangari viewed government as the major avenue of environmental destruction and her outspoken attitude made her to be at constant conflict with government officials.Her major open political rivalry occurred in 1989 when she led a group of her followers to block a move by the government to construct a 60 story skyscraper business complex in Uhuru Park costing about $ 200 million (a recreational park located within Nairobi city). This complex was meant to be used as government offices.The campaign was successful as the foreign investors decided to abandon the construction. The building was never constructed to date.
Her constant conflict with the government saw her being imprisoned on several instances due to her political activism activities (Ahmad, 2005).As a political activist, maathai advocated for multi party legalization and hence elections. She also criticized sharply political corruptions as well as tribal politics which were rampant in the country. In 1992, Wangari Maathai went on a hunger strike and she was later beaten to unconsciousness by police men which led to her hospitalization.
The then president of Kenya Daniel Moi referred to her a s a “mad woman” and he termed her as a threat to the country’s order and security. This was the first time multi party was allowed in Kenya and as such, she is credited as among the first individuals who brought about democracy in Kenya.The second elections of multi party in Kenya were held in 1997. During this period, Wangari Maathai was vying for the presidency of the country although her then political party liberal party of Kenya withdrew its support to her due to political differences (Maathai, 2008).
In the year 1999, Professor Wangari was attacked during a tree planting exercise in an area which the government wanted to clear to establish a golf course. This attack was however captured in a film by her supporters which led to an outrage both from within the country and also by the international scene.This popularized her as an environmental conservative as well as an agile political activist who was fighting political corruptions within the then system of government (Maathai & Green Belt Movement (Society: Kenya) 2004).After several attempts to win a ticket in the national assembly of Kenya which is equivalent to the congress of the United States, Professor Wangari Maathai was elected a member of parliament representing Tetu constituency an equivalent of a state in the United States in the year 2002.
In the year 2003, she was appointed to the post of an assistant minister dealing with the ministry of environment, wildlife and natural resources which she served until the year 2005.While still acting as an assistant minister, dr. wangari maathai founded her own political party and called it Mazingira Green Party of Kenya (where mazingira is a native Kiswahili word for environment) in the year 2003. Professor Wangari Maathai was awarded the prestigious Nobel peace prize in year 2004 due to her contribution towards sustainable development, peace and democracy in Kenya (Ahmad, 2005).Apart from being a political activist and an environmentalist, Professor Wangari Maathai has also been actively in defending the rights of women in Kenya as well as a brave campaigner of human rights in general. In the year 2005, she helped in giving shape to the new Kenya’s rights bill.
In the same year, maathai represented Kenya in the UN commission on women status which is an international body which is convened and held by countries’ representatives which an aim of promoting women’s rights in the whole world.As an environmentalist and a human rights committed activist, Professor Wangari Maathai has been honored with different awards like the Goldman environmental prize, the UN Africa leadership prize and the right livelihood award among other awards (Dove, 2008).During the month of March in the year 2005, professor wangari maathai was elected to the position of the president of African union’s economic, cultural and social council. She was the first person to hold this position and in 2006, she formed part of the eight bearers of flag during the opening ceremony on the winter 2006 Olympics.
Still in the year 2006, maathai was honored with an honorary doctorate by the Connecticut College and she also gave the opening address in this institution. Maathai is also credited for supporting the deserts and desertification program which is an international desertification campaign program. Maathai in the same year 2006 also steered the UN billion tree planting campaign (Ahmad, 2005).ConclusionProfessor Wangari Maathai is one of the most celebrated environmentalists, human rights activist and political activist woman in Africa.
Born in a humble background involved in farming, professor maathai developed her love for the environment which she has fearlessly advocated and campaigned for in her home country Kenya and in the world.She has also been endlessly advocating for the rights of women and she is credited for bringing about gender equality in Kenya through her initiatives to ensure that women became financially independent thus taking charge or control of their future unlike the past tradition which suppressed women to house chores.Also, wangari maathai has tirelessly fought against political corruption as well as political suppression in Kenya. Professor Wangari Maathai has become a role model to may political and human rights activists as well as environmentalists. In particular, she is a role model who has helped bring democracy in Kenya and she has acted as a change agent not only in Kenya but also globally.Reference:Ahmad, I.
(2005): Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai: Connecting Trees, Civic Education, and Peace. Journal article of Social Education, Vol. 69Dove, M. R. (2008): New Environmentalism.
Journal article of Harvard International Review, Vol. 30Maathai, W. (2008): An Unbreakable Link: Peace, Environment, and Democracy. Journal article of Harvard International Review, Vol.
29Maathai, W. M. (2007): Unbowed: A Memoir. ISBN 0307275205, Published by Anchor BooksMaathai, W. & Green Belt Movement (Society: Kenya) (2004): The Green Belt Movement: sharing the approach and the experience.
ISBN 159056040X, Published by Lantern Books
