At that time, she was working as an assistant lecturer at the University College, Nairobi. Mathaai was named Wangari at birth after her fathers mother, as was Gikuyu tradition. Both families migrated from the Nyeri District to the Rift Valley province in search of employment and land to cultivate. When she tried to withdraw her resignation letter from the University of Nairobi, she was bluntly told that the position had been taken by another person! Accordingly, she adopted new Christian names, to later abandon them in favor of her African names, a saga repeated upon marriage and divorce.13, In 1956, Maathai took another important step in her education journey by joining Loreto High School, Limuru. 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. Often their phone calls, faxes, lettersor, later, e-mailsor simply their presence made the difference at a crucial moment. Wangari Maathai went to college in the United States, earning degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964) and the University of Pittsburgh (1966). The life of Wangari Muta Maathai (19402011) was strongly shaped by her rural environment, missionary education, and exposure to university education in the United States and Germany. In these initial attempts, no distinct ideological orientation or program of action could distinguish her from other politicians in the country. I stand before you and the world humbled by this recognition and uplifted by the honour of being the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate. The NCWK nurtured this initiative, enabling it to reach out and empower rural women. Such strengths also helped to secure funding for the GBM and to ensure, in some measure, Maathais personal security. In 1947, she returned to Ihithe, for lack of educational opportunities at the farm. The death of Wangari Muta Maathai on September 25, 2011, left a rich heritage that continues to inspire men and women, old and young, and indeed the entire world as it grapples with the challenges of sustainable development goals and climate change. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Maathais marriage produced three children, Waweru, Wanjira, and Muta, two boys and a girl. % She saw how missionaries perpetuated false dichotomies between Christian values and aspects of African cultures.21 This revelation was to shape and indeed strengthen Maathais appreciation of her Gikuyu cultural background and heritage, enabling her to interact and learn from ordinary people in her advocacy for sustainable environmental practices and the empowerment of women. Her concerns resonated with the needs and pains of ordinary mothers. The World Conference on Women held in Mexico (1975) and subsequent ones in Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995) set the stage for fundamental changes in gender policies, relations, and for womens participation in development and leadership.49, International discourse on the environment and climate change also advanced after the Stockholm conference through a series of initiatives culminating in the United Nations Conference on Environmental Development (UNCED), Earth Summit (1992), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg, South Africa (2002).50 Such discourse broadened debates on development, giving critical attention to issues surrounding the environment and climate change. The genius of Maathai and other women leaders was to turn this elite organization into a vehicle for the empowerment of rural women. A meeting with Prof. Reinhold Hofmann from the University of Giessen in Germany provided an opportunity not only for employment but also for the advancement of her field of interest at the upcoming university. 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. She was elected to Kenyas National Assembly in 2002 with 98 percent of the vote, and in 2003 she was appointed assistant minister of environment, natural resources, and wildlife. When cash crops were introduced, again it was men who were registered in the cooperatives and received payments after deliveries of tea and coffee. During this period the GBM thrived, leading to the recognition of Maathai. She was recognized at once for doing no harm and for not upsetting the status quo. Further information about these conferences can be found in the Links to Digital Materials section. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. 5. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Wangari Maathai was able to achieve a large degree of educational and professional successes despite her rural beginnings in a fiercely patriarchal society and within a male . To all of them, I am eternally grateful, as I am to the powerful who were willing to use their positions to protect me.37. A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari MaathaibyWritten by Nicola RijsdijkIllustrated by Maya MarshakIn a village on the slopes of Mount Kenya, a little girl work. Wangari Muta Maathai dedicated her life to solving some of these key issues in Kenya and the world. Later in life, as she became more engaged with various communities, her respect and appreciation of Gikuyu language, culture, and indigenous knowledge deepened and widened.17. Diversified international funding helped build a unique and solid international constituency that sustained the GBM financially and politically. Her resignation was accepted, but she was disqualified to stand as a candidate allegedly because she had not been registered as a voter. She is survived by two daughters, Wanjira and Muta, and a son, Waweru, as well as her granddaughter, Ruth. An interview with Ms. Lillian W. Mwaura, former chairperson of NCWK, 1987 to 1996, November 15, 2018. In 1997 and 2002, Maathai ventured into electoral politics once more. Your recognition as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate has without doubt now confirmed your extraordinary identity in Tetu, Nyeri, Kenya, East Africa, Africa and the World.60. When they got married, she changed her name to Wangari Mathai, which she initially resisted, but did so on the insistence of her husband. Primary Sources Overview . (Nairobi, Kenya: Leadership Institute, 2011); and Wangari Maathai, Unbowed: One Womans Story (London: Arrow Books, 2006). Maathai was of Kikuyu ethnicity. Wangari Maathai, The Challenge for Africa: A New Vision (London: William Heinemann, 2009); on culture, 160183; and on mother tongues, 220226. She was also the first female scholar from East and Central Africa to take a doctorate (in biology), and the first female professor ever in her home country of Kenya. This source is a well-written and detailed autobiography from the topic, Wangari Maathai. ed. Maathais exposure to other Kenyan ethnic communities broadened when she moved onto a settlers farm in the Nakuru area where her father was employed. These changes started with the alienation of large tracts of land for white settlement at the onset of British colonialism. This may have shaped her strong ecumenical stance evident in later years. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. It is imperative to appreciate how engagement with the GBM widened Maathais horizons and capacity to confront authoritarianism, interrogate democratic governance, gender inequality, conflicts and peace, and engage with broader concerns of sustainable development and climate change. The attendant inequalities in the country were analyzed and flagged by the International Labour Organization Report of 1972. A. However, no healing of the scars inflicted on you, I am convinced, can equal the soothing of the Nobel Peace Prize you have now won. In the midst of enormous challenges and obstacles, she created a formidable Green Belt Movement (GBM) to empower grassroots women. Alan Fowler, Striking a Balance: Guide to Enhancing the Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in International Development (London: Earthscan Publications, 1997). As elites, they were keen to build careers, and acquire wealth and status in the emerging society. She had become a global figure. She was indeed an African environmental icon as testified by her appointment to the prestigious position of goodwill ambassador for the Congo Basin rainforest ecosystem. Timothy Njoya, We the People: Thinking Heavenly Acting Kenyan (Nairobi, Kenya: WordAlive Publishers, 2017). 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. xZF}W907s!d!c%:U]mT{/$uo_N>Br4@~{O[O^}ovp]n |~VJ[GOPZWer9_\RN.gz}z4bot#'t:U1m1bU.h]Y HRkC`X:w63u4_Hg~4R~0)(Jc)& AV{-1j$sNDD~OnyL>Re,LF*!j' M{1e%-lh O:0q|V6M1+a|k>>H.p`T@v5{b-. She was not deterred by personal abuse and threats, and today this open space in the center of Nairobi is a testimony of her courage, persistence, and foresight. Maathai, Unbowed, 112, 144, 151155. It is important to acknowledge that those relationships gave her work legitimacy, visibility, and recognition, and thereby ensured funding for the GBM and provided Maathai a measure of personal protection from the authoritarian regime. This affinity with the soil became a great asset when she led tree-planting campaigns. 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. Fresh Air Weekend Fresh Air Weekend: NPR host Mary Louise Kelly; Josh Groban. Wangari Muta Maathai o o tshotsweng ka kgwedi ya Moranang e tlhola gangwe ka ngwaga wa 1940, mme a tlhokafala ka kgwedi ya Lwetse e le malatsi a le masome le botlhano ka ngwaga wa 2011, e ne e le molwela ditshwanelo tsa selegae, tikologo le polotiki wa ko lefatsheng la Kenya, o o simolodisitseng mokgatlho wa Green Belt Movement, o e leng mokgatlho o o ikemetseng ka nosi o o itebagantseng le go . This was characterized by land grabbing, destruction of forests and wildlife, and by exploiting the complex dynamics between public service and engagement in private business. These forms of marginalization of women were common in Kenya. In 1977, Maathai founded a grassroots organization, the Green Belt Movement, focused on reforestation to promote sustainability and establish financial income for women in the region. 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. 33. Wangari Maathai: storyteller Her venture into politics plunged her into new controversies and, ironically, resulted in more publicity for the GBM. Hence Maathai was shaped mainly by Gikuyu culture, colonial and postcolonial history, contacts with Catholic clergy, nuns, and grassroots women. She had a bucolic childhood spent in the rural Kenyan countryside and was sent to St. Cecilia Intermediary, a mission school, for her primary education. The first indigenous woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai started school in 1948 at Ihithe Primary School. Updates? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Instead the state officials preferred to create divisions among the GBM leadership rather than banish it. She had a job offer in the Department of Zoology at University College, Nairobi, only to discover the shocking news that the job had meanwhile been given to another person who was not even in the country. These groups played critical roles in shaping the values and politics that she espoused for social justice, sustainable development, and climate change. . Wangari Maathai, environmental activist and politician, born 1 April 1940; died 25 . Maathai and other writers have described at length the methodologies and approaches utilized by the GBM to reach out to rural women, building awareness regarding the needs of the environment and the adoption of relevant innovations.31 Such were the modalities and characteristics of the movement, resulting in a culture of tree planting that was nurtured widely among Kenyans. Addressing enormously complex challenges of deforestation and global climate change, the movement partnered with poor rural women who were encouraged, and paid a small stipend, to plant millions of trees to slow . You could not be signed in, please check and try again. The Early Years and Education "It was during the mbura ya njahi - the season of long rains, in 1940 that Wangari Maathai was born. 11. 27 0 obj She challenged this in court, but her petition was dismissed. 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. Perchance they helped Maathai consolidate her thinking and understanding of environmental issues in Kenya and helped her to identify follow up actions that needed to be taken. As Maathai ascended to the leadership of the NCWK and the GBM, international concerns and thinking with regard to the linkages between development and environment were evolving and shaping global discourse and the engagement of governments, international agencies, and NGOs. AfDB, Eminent Speakers Program, Wangari Maathai Underscores Importance of Good Governance in Poverty Reduction Efforts, October 27, 2010. University of Nairobi Research Archive, Citation on Professor Wangari Muta Maathai on her Conferment of the Honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) While working with the National Council of Women of Kenya, Maathai developed the idea that village women could improve the environment by planting trees to provide a fuel source and to slow the processes of deforestation and desertification. The drift toward authoritarianism had emerged in the late 60s and 70s under Kenyas first President, Jomo Kenyatta, and was consolidated in the 80s with the ascendancy of the Moi regime.47 One party rule was legalized, and dissent was punished by arbitrary arrests, torture, and detention without trial.48 Maathai took up the leadership of the NCWK and subsequently as a coordinator of the GBM as state control and surveillance was intensified. At college in the United States, she found it confusing to be referred as Miss Wangari. endobj Primary Sources. Hence the dynamics of local and international forces coalesced in the work of the GBM. They are, however, not responsible for the views expressed herein or the interpretations given in the article. 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. 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. Maathais parents were among the first people to interact with and gain some education from the missionaries (athomi or asomi). The GBM established strong footholds in the districts where land consolidation and settlements had taken place and where modern farming methods and marketing were adopted. Yet in my various struggles I have been fortunate to receive the encouragement and support of many individuals and institutions both in Kenya and overseas, who have stood by me in difficult times. One of Maathais remarkable gifts and indeed a notable strength was her ability to build alliances between local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs, with environmental celebrities, activists, and the press, thereby raising local and global awareness of grassroots environmental issues. Our school calendar. Corrections? Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. There her interest in the sciences was further nurtured by the Catholic nun teachers. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. While colonial and Western education at times alienated her from her mother tongue, culture, and home environment, it paved the way for her to achieve the highest academic distinction and many honors. In the last three decades it has become the cosmopolitan and partially urbanized County of Nyeri. xc```b``b`a``f`0$2,~6#\31f3F0f``//^^$bZdQ#n(f`dbg`cX76lb> U) The first attempt in 1982 was blocked; in the 1997 attempt, she failed to secure a seat. She appealed to environmental and peace constituencies in the global development establishment and was heartily recognized. She even gave a speech at the AfDB Groups Eminent Speakers Program in Tunis, Tunisia, on October 27, 2009.62, In Africa she made history in many respects. Member organizations were usually part of a countrywide network that resonated with concerns of grassroots women. << /Contents 27 0 R /MediaBox [ 0 0 612 792 ] /Parent 43 0 R /Resources << /ExtGState << /G3 38 0 R >> /Font << /F4 39 0 R /F5 40 0 R /F6 41 0 R /F7 42 0 R >> /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI ] >> /StructParents 0 /Type /Page >> Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). The list of supporterswomen, men, and institutions in Kenya and elsewherewould be long. << /Filter /FlateDecode /S 128 /Length 115 >> 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. She was narrowly defeated in the race for the top position, but was consoled by being appointed vice-chairperson, elected by an overwhelming majority. However, both were interested in Western education.5 They realized the value of education and encouraged their children to attend school.