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In these initial attempts, no distinct ideological orientation or program of action could distinguish her from other politicians in the country. 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. She was narrowly defeated in the race for the top position, but was consoled by being appointed vice-chairperson, elected by an overwhelming majority. Corrections? Suffice it to say, she mobilized local and international communities to save Uhuru Park from being turned into a concrete jungle. This article has benefited a great deal from discussions and interviews held toward the end of 2018 and in 2019 with Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Rev. She was tasked with domestic chores as was expected of young girls in traditional society. ed. The GBM is thus credited with developing a culture of planting trees during important family, community, and national events. By becoming a full-time paid coordinator, Maathai brought much needed energy and courage into the movement at a critical time of its development. Member organizations were usually part of a countrywide network that resonated with concerns of grassroots women. Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Thus, the NCWK provided an appropriate platform to develop and experiment with innovative ideas such as the GBM. 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. In addition to her conservation work, Maathai was also an advocate for human rights, AIDS prevention, and womens issues, and she frequently represented these concerns at meetings of the United Nations General Assembly. At times she utilized these international alliances and networks to expose the atrocities and injustices that people had suffered under the auspices of their own government. 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. 50, Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, 1987; and Njuguna, Ngethe and Karuti, Kanyinga, The Politics of Development Space: The State and NGOs in the Delivery of Basic Services in Kenya, Working Paper, Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, 1992. In reality, her environmental activism was part of a holistic approach to empowering women, advocating for democracy, and protecting the earth. These groups played critical roles in shaping the values and politics that she espoused for social justice, sustainable development, and climate change. While working for the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976, Maathai came up with . The document argued that by creating a class of privileged rural farmers, the radicalization of peasants would be minimized, thus denying support for Mau Mau and other radical political elements. With Wairimu Nderitu, Mukami Kimathi: Mau Freedom Fighter (Nairobi, Kenya: Mdahalo Bridging Divides, 2017); and Caroline Elkins, Britains Gulag: The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya (London: The Bodley Head, 2014), 237238. 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. Historian G. Muriuki refers to this early mixing of ethnic groups in The History of the Kikuyu, 15001900 (Nairobi, Kenya: Oxford University Press, 1974). 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. This, she did at high personal risk to her and to her friends. Modern farming methods were introduced to small-scale farmers through the provision of extension services and credit facilities. The couple had similar family backgrounds. Eventually Maathai was awarded a PhD by the University of East Africa in 1971. In the forests of Aberdares and Mount Kenya, guerilla warfare was intense. The diversity of funding sources was remarkable in winning international support and admirers including young people (for instance, Danish school children), celebrities, NGOs, and bilateral, private foundations and UN agencies.57 This array of support attracted international interest, recognition, and awards, and cushioned the GBM and Maathai against drastic measures that were taken at that time against other civil society organizations and individuals in the country. Wangari Maathai. Then she was confronted with the fact that she had no job nor house to live inhard realities. Fresh Air Weekend Fresh Air Weekend: NPR host Mary Louise Kelly; Josh Groban. 56. Primary Sources. Published March 28, 2023. When cash crops were introduced, again it was men who were registered in the cooperatives and received payments after deliveries of tea and coffee. 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. The Early Years and Education "It was during the mbura ya njahi - the season of long rains, in 1940 that Wangari Maathai was born. 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. ed. 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. Ecologist Wangari Maathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her years of work with women to reverse African deforestation. 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. Dr. Samuel Kobia, the former general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), November 2018, indicate Wangari participated in the early debates at the WCCs Conference on Faith, Science, and the Future at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1979); and in the Church and Society Committee of the WCC. Interviews held on various dates in 2018 and 2019 with Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Rev. She is survived by two daughters, Wanjira and Muta, and a son, Waweru, as well as her granddaughter, Ruth. 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. 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. 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. Among them were the activists and the brokers of power. Her venture into politics plunged her into new controversies and, ironically, resulted in more publicity for the GBM. The genius of Maathai and other women leaders was to turn this elite organization into a vehicle for the empowerment of rural women. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. A church allied to President Moi withdrew from the NCCK in similar circumstances.34 Thereafter Maendeleo ya Wanawake was integrated within the ruling party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), until the overwhelming defeat of the party in the general elections of 2002.35, Secondly, in 1982 for the first time, Maathai ventured into electoral politics. When Maathai decided to vie for an elected position, she underestimated the determination of the state to frustrate and contain her ambitions. 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. In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a non-governmental organization, which encourages women to plant trees to combat deforestation and environmental degradation. 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. << /Filter /FlateDecode /S 128 /Length 115 >> You could not be signed in, please check and try again. 13. In her final years, she battled ovarian cancer. The relevant conferences included: Environment and Development (Stockholm, Sweden, 1972), Hunger and World Food Problems (Rome, Italy, 1974), Population Growth and Development (Cairo, Egypt, 1974), Human Settlements (Vancouver, Canada, 1976), Science and Technology for Development (Vienna, Austria, 1979), and Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). The women formed an important constituency of this work which politicians could not ignore. In his memoir, Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir (Nairobi, Kenya: Kenway Publications, 2010), 110, Ngugi Wa Thiongo narrates similar experiences in regard to speaking Gikuyu in school. 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. 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 . Dr. Samuel Kobia, Annetta Miller, Harold Miller, Ms . 12. She was brought up, taught, encouraged, and mentored by womenher mother, village women, and teachers (nuns in particular). 5. On her demise, she was accorded a state funeral by the Kenyan government. She resigned from her comfortable position at the University of Nairobi to contest a by-election in a rural constituency. Aid agencies distrusted state actors and channeled more resources to nonstate actors.56. The early Gikuyu patterns of rural settlements are described by Jomo Kenyatta, Facing Mount Kenya: The Tribal Life of the Gikuyu (New York: Vintage Books, 1965); Duncan Ndegwa, Walking in Kenyatta Struggles: My Story, 2nd ed. Our school calendar. This was a rare occurrence in her male-dominated society. 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. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, African History. Wangari Maathai. Wangari Maathai. 26 0 obj xc```b``b`a``f`0$2,~6#\31f3F0f``//^^$bZdQ#n(f`dbg`cX76lb> U) 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. At the insistence of her mother and her brother Nderitu, Maathai was enrolled at a Presbyterian church Primary School, Ihitheand there began her exposure to Western education.8 This experience ignited a passion for education, which Maathai captured in later writings: How I longed to be able to write something and rub it out. However, both were interested in Western education.5 They realized the value of education and encouraged their children to attend school. 7. stream This may have shaped her strong ecumenical stance evident in later years. M. P. K. Sorrenson, Land Reform in Kikuyu Country (London: Oxford University Press, 1967). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Her entire life was thus characterized by learning, critical observations, engagement, interactions with people, and advocacy for change. 1. A. Use these quotes in discussing Wangari Maathai's life and how her views and activities changed over the course of her lifetime. Their divorce was highly publicized. In 1971 she received a Ph.D. at the University of Nairobi, effectively becoming the first woman in either East or Central Africa to earn a doctorate. Alan Fowler, Striking a Balance: Guide to Enhancing the Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in International Development (London: Earthscan Publications, 1997). Once again finding her options limited, she went on to pursue a doctorate from the University of Giessen in Germany. Under colonialism, indigenous Kenyan cultures were besieged. However, some people who had early contact with colonialists and missionaries lost valuable land and were displaced, while others were relegated to migrant labor. Unbowed: A Memoir . 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. Maathais academic studies at Mount St. Scholastica College prepared her for entry into graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh in 1964, where she completed a masters degree in biology before returning to Kenya early1966. 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. As more funds were secured and more international attention gained, the GBM was assured of survival, both financially and politically. << /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 >> 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. It also gave her increased international exposure which provided some degree of political protection and a platform to highlight issues related to the environment. 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