Wangari Maathai. To see her customs denigrated at this stage of her personal development was devastating.12 Despite that negative experience, Maathai remained proud of her culture and valued indigenous knowledge and related stories. This source is a well-written and detailed autobiography from the topic, Wangari Maathai. I used this source to add more variety to my sources and to get more specific details about Maathai's life. 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. She sat for the Kenya Primary Examination in 1951 and scored Grade One. Maathai was an elected member of the Parliament of Kenya and between January 2003 and November 2005 served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki. 61. Later, when she was denied the opportunity to participate in elective politics, she invested her energies into the development of the GBM which became her signature lifetime achievement, widely honored on numerous occasions for its pioneer tree-planting ventures and the related empowerment of women. She was an Honorary Councillor of the World Future Council. Future research could explore further the tensions that marriages of educated elites encountered, while still embedded in their ethnic traditions. 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. 44. Tutu described how it emerged and was contextualized in the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); see Desmond Tutu, No Future without Forgiveness: A Personal Overview of South Africas Truth and Reconciliation Commission (New York: Doubleday, 1999), 3032 and 165167. There, Maathai changed her first baptismal name and became a staunch member of the Legion of Mary, which encouraged the values of service and volunteering. Born in the midst of a world war and growing up among the conflicts and ambiguities of colonial domination, thereafter she cultivated, mobilized, and networked for a world of democratic and peaceful governance and sustainable development. Hence, she decided to correct the confusion by adopting her full name, Mary Josephine Wangari Muta. It also diffused opportunities for deepening an understanding of environment challenges in the country. 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. With the reduced role of the state and increased indebtedness of African countries, new spaces for other development actors emerged. Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, in recognition of her work with the Green Belt Movement, a group that organizes disadvantaged women in Africa to plant trees in order to preserve the environment and improve women' quality of life. In 1979, when she vied for the position of chairperson, she encountered ethnic and political intrigues, and personal innuendos, citing her as a divorced and educated woman. The concept of Ubuntu has been widely discussed in South Africa, but here it refers to Desmond Tutus rendering of it in his book, God Is Not a Christian: Speaking Truth in Times of Crisis (London: Rider, 2013), 2124. 36. She observed: Working for justice and freedom is often a lonely and dispirited business. Though such encounters in colonial Kenya were often limited, Maathai strived to base these relationships on equality, freedom, dignity, learning, and mobilization in common pursuit of sustainable development. Maathais campaigns to empower women may have been rooted in these experiences of gender inequalities and marginalization.53, In the 80s most African countries underwent structural adjustment policies leading to economic and social reforms, the privatization of state enterprises, and the limitation of the role of the state in development activities.54 These externally initiated reforms impacted negatively on the provision of health, education, and other social services. 41. 60. Maathai was born in polygamous family. 39. 27 0 obj During this period the GBM thrived, leading to the recognition of Maathai. When I finally learned to read and write, I never stopped, because I could read, I could write and I could rub.9 After a period of attending primary school, it was decided she should join her cousin at St. Cecilias Intermediate Primary School, a boarding school operated by the Mathari Catholic Mission and Consolata Missionary Sisters. In this regard, Nyeri was the epicenter of the freedom struggle. Member organizations were usually part of a countrywide network that resonated with concerns of grassroots women. 23 0 obj Unbowed: A Memoir . Eventually Maathai was awarded a PhD by the University of East Africa in 1971. Wangari Muta married Mwangi Mathai in 1969. << /Filter /FlateDecode /S 128 /Length 115 >> The NCWK nurtured this initiative, enabling it to reach out and empower rural women. She is the recipient of 15 honorary degrees in science, law, humane letters, and public service, and 50+ awards and recognitions . Daniel Branch, Kenya: Between Hope and Despair, 19632012 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), 249251; and Karuti Kanyinga and Duncan Okello, eds., Tensions and Reversals in Democratic Transitions: The Kenya 2007 General Elections (Nairobi, Kenya: Society for International Development and Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, 2010), 169. This formal education opened unparalleled opportunities in colonial and postcolonial Kenya. Timothy Njoya, We the People: Thinking Heavenly Acting Kenyan (Nairobi, Kenya: WordAlive Publishers, 2017). She was the first woman to be awarded a PhD in veterinary sciences and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. 33. 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 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. In the later stages of her life, as she worked for the restoration of the environment, she often recalled this period nostalgically as a source of inspiration and renewal.7 Field work provided hands-on experience with nature and nurtured a strong attachment to plants, animals, and rivers in the immediate environment. She creatively defied this by changing her last name to Maathai, by adding an a to her ex-husbands surname. During the period when Maathai was acquiring her education in Kenya and the United States (19521966), the respective colonial and independent governments were undertaking far-reaching agricultural reforms in central Kenya. Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Nevertheless, it was not easy balancing bringing up three children, earning a living, carving her identity, as well as navigating through turbulent political waters.29. Among them were the activists and the brokers of power. Wangari Maathai Lesson Plan: Write and Deliver a Persuasive Speech Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8 In this lesson plan, adaptable for grades 3-12, students explore BrainPOP resources to learn about Wangari Maathai, a global leader for women's rights and conservation. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, Wangari Maathai spent her life fighting for and promoting democracy and peace, sustainable development, and the empowerment of women. 13. The Third Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, Johannesburg, South Africa, July 19, 2005; Sustained Development, Democracy, and Peace in Africa, Gwangju, South Korea, June 16, 2006; and the Keynote Address at the Second World Congress of Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya, August 24, 2009. xcbdg`b`8 $1{0@@"$Q$x;A,u me`b H5 dw 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. Suffice it to say, she mobilized local and international communities to save Uhuru Park from being turned into a concrete jungle. Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist who dedicated her life to promoting sustainable development, democracy, and human rights. In some circles, her move in the direction of elective politics was seen as opportunistic.40 Fortunately, this did not ruin the GBM, a tragedy that often befalls institutions from which prominent leaders emerge. By becoming a full-time paid coordinator, Maathai brought much needed energy and courage into the movement at a critical time of its development. 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. << /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 >> In many instances she learned by imitating what her mother and other village women were doing. Aid agencies distrusted state actors and channeled more resources to nonstate actors.56. 5. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. 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. It was bolstered by the introduction of cash crops such as coffee, tea, pyrethrum, and the introduction of exotic dairy cows. Researching ticks at the University of Nairobi also exposed Maathai to the environmental degradation taking place in rural Kenya and its impact on the livelihoods of rural women. 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. Wangari Muta Maathai dedicated her life to solving some of these key issues in Kenya and the world. On this farm she interacted with ordinary people from other ethnic communities as well as foreigners. Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. in biology, 1964) and at the University of Pittsburgh (M.S., 1966). The first indigenous woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai started school in 1948 at Ihithe Primary School. This was a rare occurrence in her male-dominated society. 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 . The Green Belt Movement, an organization she founded in 1977, had by the early 21st century planted some 30 million trees. Through interaction with the nuns, Maathai gained the Christian values of respect for the dignity of all human beings.14 Most of these blended well with the Gikuyu values of hard work, respect for fellow humans, and an appreciation for the dignity and wisdom derived from being a member of a community, referred to elsewhere as ubuntu.15 In many respects she became ecumenical, embracing religious ideas and values from other world faiths, especially as they related to the protection of the environment.16 Although she was one of the educated girls, she never lost touch with her rural roots and the common people. Wangari recognised rural women's primary interest and role in maintaining a productive landscape, for assuring food needs as well as making daily household necessities - water and fuel - easier to collect. The University of Nairobi, which had denied her a job in 1982, honored her with an honorary doctorate in 2005 and hosts the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies (WMI), which promotes research on land use, peace, and sustainable development. 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. Wangari Maathai held her Nobel Lecture December 10, 2004, in the Oslo City Hall, Norway. Describing her experience at St. Cecilias Intermediate Primary School, Maathai writes: I really enjoyed learning and had a knack for being an attentive listener and very focused in the classroom, while being extremely playful outside of it.10 However, colonial education also exposed her to contradictions and challenges with regard to African cultures and in particular with regard to her mother tongue.11 In her school, speaking in her mother tongue was a punishable offense. Born on April 1, 1940 Wangari Maathai grew up in Nyeri County, located in the central highlands of Kenya. 55. The life of Wangari Muta Maathai (19402011) demonstrates the complex interaction of constructive historical circumstances with the development of an individual. Bruce Currie-Alder, Ravi Kanbur, David Malone, and Rohinton Medhora (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), chapter 52. Women were in control and were making the vital decisions at home, in the village, and at school. Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), the first woman to obtain a PhD in East and Central Africa, was a scholar, and an environmental and human rights activist. M. P. K. Sorrenson, Land Reform in Kikuyu Country (London: Oxford University Press, 1967). The GBM is thus credited with developing a culture of planting trees during important family, community, and national events. Higher Education Her venture into politics plunged her into new controversies and, ironically, resulted in more publicity for the GBM. The accompanying population explosion also meant more people needed to be fed, educated, and their various needs provided for. They energized governments, development agencies, civil society organizations and, in particular, womens movements and environmental activists all over the world. The influence of the nuns began in this school and continued all the way to university. She could then be addressed as Miss Muta. Africentrism. In many areas of Kenya, the tree cover was restored. Wangari Maathai is a young woman who saw deforestation turn the lush lands of Kenya into a barren desert. There her interest in the sciences was further nurtured by the Catholic nun teachers. In 1966, Maathai returned to Kenya confident and with high hopes for making a contribution to the newly independent country. 25 0 obj In reality, her environmental activism was part of a holistic approach to empowering women, advocating for democracy, and protecting the earth. All the girls in the school came from the same community, but were prohibited from speaking their language. Each of these fields of her engagement merit detailed analysis as was done with the GBM. 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. She was presented by Professor Ole Danbolt Mjs, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The Early Years and Education "It was during the mbura ya njahi - the season of long rains, in 1940 that Wangari Maathai was born. Henry Okullu, The Quest for Justice: An Autobiography of Bishop John Henry Okullu (Kisumu, Kenya: Shalom Publishers and Computer Training Centre, 1997); and Kabiru Kinyanjui, The Christian Churches and Civil Society in Kenya, in Local Ownership, Global Change: Will Civil Society Save the World? 1 Her homeland was established by the British as the East Africa Protectorate in 1895 and then became the Kenya Colony in 1920; the independent Republic of Kenya emerged in 1964 after gaining internal self-government the prior year. The impact of changes in rural Kenya was complicated by emerging corruption among Kenyas elite. 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. When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope. The link was not copied. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 48. The socioeconomic impact of policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on the environment and poverty in Africa should be noted at a time when the thinking within UN circles was questioning the prevailing development orthodoxy. In the forests of Aberdares and Mount Kenya, guerilla warfare was intense. The degree was conferred by the President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, then Chancellor of University College, Nairobi. 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. She was narrowly defeated in the race for the top position, but was consoled by being appointed vice-chairperson, elected by an overwhelming majority. Discussions held with Rev. Forest cover was also decimated as large-scale farms were subdivided and select forest reserves were hived off for settlement purposes. Further information about these conferences can be found in the Links to Digital Materials section. The life of Wangari Muta Maathai (1940-2011) was strongly shaped by her rural environment, missionary education, and exposure to university education in the United States and Germany. 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! These factors, together with the limited number of schools in colonial Kenya, meant that the young Maathai was very fortunate. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. xc```b``b`a``f`0$2,~6#\31f3F0f``//^^$bZdQ#n(f`dbg`cX76lb> U) The most important dates and events in the current school year can be found in our calendar. Instead the state officials preferred to create divisions among the GBM leadership rather than banish it. I was learning on the job, she later admitted.58 Her approach to issues was not a fundamental threat to underlying religious, gender, cultural, or other ideological orders, though interests of elites and actors in the authoritarian state took offense. These changes were advocated by the R. J. M. Swynnerton Plan of 1954. The separation between the NCWK and the GBM that occurred in 1987 as a result of political pressure from the Moi regime, proved another milestone in the development of the identity and stature of Maathai as an environmental activist. 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. The couple had their upbringing and initial education in colonial Kenya before going to the United States for university education. 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