Wangari Maathai
For our next spotlight we travel to Kenya to profile the inspiring life of environmentalist and human rights campaigner Wangari Maathai.
The 64 year old professor known as 'The Tree Woman' in her home country is internationally recognised for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She has also been a tireless campaigner for the rights of women in Kenya and across Africa for the past 4 decades. In 2004 her work was recognised globally when she became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Her remarkable vision and determination helped reawaken awareness of how inter-dependent people are with the natural environment.
Early life
Wangari Maathai's remarkable journey began in 1940 when she was born in the shadow of Mount Kenya in Nyeri. Wangari went on to Higher Education at a time when it was rare for girls in rural Kenya to pursue such a path. She excelled at school and travelled to the United States to pursue third level education where she earned a masters degree at the University of Pittsburgh. She became the first woman in East Africa to hold a PhD and then went on to become the first woman head of a university department back in her native Kenya. In the early 1970's Wangari's husband ran for Parliament and she became involved in organising work for poor people. She witnessed for herself how the widespread destruction of forests in Kenya was contributing to soil erosion, water pollution, lack of firewood for cooking and the consequences this had for farmers.
The green belt movement
In 1977 she founded the Green Belt Movement. Wangari Maathai saw that planting new trees was a practical step ordinary Kenyans could take to improve the environment and thus improve their own quality of life. Wangari used her position on the National Council of Women in Kenya to introduce her visionary tree renewal scheme. Despite resistance from the Government and a somewhat sceptical public, she managed to convince many grassroots women groups of the long-term benefits of such a scheme. Millions of trees were planted throughout Kenya. In 1986 the Movement established a Pan African Green Belt Network and since then countries such as Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia have successfully launched similar initiatives.
A voice for justice
The projects grew to protect bio-diversity, re-educate people about their environment and to promote the rights of women and children. As the campaign grew, Maathai began to expose corruption and unfair policies such as land grabbing and giving protected forestland over to private developers. In one of her most famous victories, Wangari's campaign succeeded in thwarting attempts to build a skyscraper on public parklands, a victory that made her many powerful enemies.
In 1991 as a direct result of her campaigning Wangari Maathai was arrested and jailed by consent of President Daniel arap Moi who ruled Kenya for 24 years. Soon, news of her arrest spread around the world and an Amnesty International letter writing campaign helped set her free.
In recent years her activism has evolved into becoming a leading campaigner on social issues. In 1998 Wangari Maathai embarked on a new challenge as part of the Jubilee 2000 Campaign, which sought the cancellation of debts for poor countries in Africa.
In December 2002, following the defeat of Kenya's long serving president, Wangari Maathai was elected to parliament as part of a landslide victory and in early 2003 was named as Deputy Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife.
Then in 2004, Wangari tipped a record 194 nominations to become the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking at the awards ceremony she stated, "this is the recognition of the many efforts of African women, who continue to struggle despite all the problems they face".
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