She had become a global figure. ed. The encounter with expatriate Germans opened a unique opportunity for Maathai. 1. 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 benefited mainly from the tide of change which was sweeping the country, not because she had articulated her own political ideas.42. Children like Maathai, who were born near a missionary settlement, and whose parents allowed them to venture into the new teachings by Christian missionaries, had early access to Western education. 17. 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. In her writings, Maathai refers to Maasai influence on her mothers side.3. In 2004, Maathai was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her contribution to protecting the environment and empowering women in Africa. 2021 marks 10 years since Prof . 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. To the school calendar. She observed: Working for justice and freedom is often a lonely and dispirited business. Her life was a series of firsts: the first woman to gain a Ph.D. in East and Central Africa; the first female chair of a department at the University of Nairobi; and the first African woman and the first environmentalist to receive the . Women were in control and were making the vital decisions at home, in the village, and at school. Wangari Maathai was born as Wangari Muta on 1 April 1940 in the village of Ihithe in the central highlands of the colony of Kenya. 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! 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. She became Wangari Mathai. 36. 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. Forest cover was also decimated as large-scale farms were subdivided and select forest reserves were hived off for settlement purposes. Political activist and environmentalist Wangari Maathai was trained to be a leader. Leaders of the Green Belt Movement established the Pan African Green Belt Network in 1986 in order to educate world leaders about conservation and environmental improvement. Even though some of the teaching at school undermined her cultural identity, the warmth and encouragement from the Catholic nuns and the stimulus of learning and appreciating the sciences had a lasting impact. It was bolstered by the introduction of cash crops such as coffee, tea, pyrethrum, and the introduction of exotic dairy cows. This formal education opened unparalleled opportunities in colonial and postcolonial Kenya. 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. The GBM is thus credited with developing a culture of planting trees during important family, community, and national events. The survival of the GBM under these circumstances may be attributed to the international stature that Maathai had acquired as an environmental warrior, and the existence of supporter networks and admirers scattered all over the world. 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. In many areas of Kenya, the tree cover was restored. 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. Individual ownership of land and the introduction of cash crops drastically altered how people related to their environment.25 The indigenous trees were cut to prepare ground for planting coffee, tea, and wetlands; sacred groves and common grazing areas were subdivided, shared, and privatized.26 The consequences of these changes were observed by the young Maathai and responded to by the GBM in the 80s and 90s. 51. Her resignation was accepted, but she was disqualified to stand as a candidate allegedly because she had not been registered as a voter. This policy was implemented from the mid-1950s and accelerated in the 60s and 70s by the independent government of Kenya. The continued existence of the Karura Forest in the outskirts of Nairobi city is another hallmark of her courage. With the reduced role of the state and increased indebtedness of African countries, new spaces for other development actors emerged. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History, Early States and State Formation in Africa, Historical Preservation and Cultural Heritage, Formal Education in Kenya and the United States, The Place of Wangari Maathai in Kenya, Africa, and the World, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.480, United Nations Conference on Human Environment, World Conference of the International Womens Year, United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, United Nations Conference on Environmental Development (UNCED), Earth Summit, World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Wangari Maathai: Key Speeches and Articles, Women, Gender, and Sexuality in East Africa. In the forests of Aberdares and Mount Kenya, guerilla warfare was intense. endobj 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. Murungi, In the Mud of Politics, 196199. Timothy Njoya, We the People: Thinking Heavenly Acting Kenyan (Nairobi, Kenya: WordAlive Publishers, 2017). 31. 11. 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. The intention was to pacify central Kenya and create a favorable apolitical climate for consolidating the interests of settlers and the colonial administration. 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. Early Life It focused on the value of tree-planting programs, as well as dealing with environmental deterioration in rural areas resulting from the intensified cultivation of cash crops and population growth. Justin Chang reviews Showing Up.Groban first auditioned to . 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 . 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 . The United Nations (UN) conferences in the 70s provided the base for global debates on environment and equality for women that dominated the rest of the 20th century and beyond. I used this source to add more variety to my sources and to get more specific details about Maathai's life. 23 0 obj While undertaking her studies, Maathai learned how Christianity practiced in American, European, and African societies blended well with their dominant cultures. 49. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wangari-Maathai, The Nobel Prize - Biography of Wangari Maathai, Wangari Muta Maathai - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Wangari Maathai - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The first indigenous woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai started school in 1948 at Ihithe Primary School. 61. 24 0 obj It is here that the GBM mobilized women, self-help groups, and communities into tree-planting networks.44 Its reputation soared in the context of environmental advocacy, tree planting, and the raising of awareness of poverty at grassroots levels. They energized governments, development agencies, civil society organizations and, in particular, womens movements and environmental activists all over the world. Wangari Maathai, The Challenge for Africa: A New Vision (London: William Heinemann, 2009); on culture, 160183; and on mother tongues, 220226. It's teamwork. 32. The Early Years and Education "It was during the mbura ya njahi - the season of long rains, in 1940 that Wangari Maathai was born. In the midst of her demanding career as an environmental and political activist, Maathai enjoyed motherhood and was very protective of her children. By becoming a full-time paid coordinator, Maathai brought much needed energy and courage into the movement at a critical time of its development. Instead the state officials preferred to create divisions among the GBM leadership rather than banish it. 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. 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. He offered Maathai the job of a research assistant on the basis of skills acquired during her studies and work exposure in the United States.23. 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. Local experiences also infused global thinking and appreciation of struggles for democratic governance, peace, and sustainable development. That she accompanied mothers of political detainees at the Freedom Corner to fight for the release of their incarcerated children is indicative of how she identified with the struggles of ordinary Kenyans in confronting an authoritarian regime. Located between the Aberdares Mountains and Mount Kenya, the Nyeri District was well known as the epicenter of Gikuyu resistance to colonialism and the imposition of colonial taxation. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Kenya, Bridging Ethnic Divides: A Commissioners Experience on Cohesion and Integration (Nairobi, Kenya: Mdahalo Bridging Divides, 2018). Wangari's Trees of Peace is based on the true story of Wangari Maathai, an environmentalist in Kenya and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. 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. As a result of the movements activism, similar initiatives were begun in other African countries, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. In 1947, she returned to Ihithe, for lack of educational opportunities at the farm. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Hence the dynamics of local and international forces coalesced in the work of the GBM. Kelly reflects on juggling motherhood and chasing the news. She affirmed earth and water, air and the waning fire of the sun combine to form the essential elements of life and reveal to me my kinship with the soil.63. 12. 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. She is the recipient of 15 honorary degrees in science, law, humane letters, and public service, and 50+ awards and recognitions . Her adage that when we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope remains an inspiration. Maathai, The Challenge for Africa, 1112 and 272273. 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 . stream 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. Thirdly, the prevailing circumstances, both personal and organizational, called for the strengthening of the NCWK and the GBM by building networks and partnerships to facilitate funding and support. Other influential circumstances include an encounter on a settlers farm in the Nakuru region of Kenya, engagements with women in tree-planting ventures, and intense protracted struggles for the democratization of Kenya. Wangari Muta Maathai Anchor was a prominent Kenyan environmental and political activist. On Sunday, Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died. At the same time, Maathais life was greatly influenced by the splendor and simplicity of rural Gikuyu community life, values which subsequently engaged with Western education and religion, with ethnic and gender biases, and with state power and international development thinking. Maathai played an active part in the struggle for democracy in Kenya, and belonged to the opposition . She became the first woman in East and Central Africa to acquire such an academic degree.24 With her academic career assured in the new University of Nairobi, she became the chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy in 1976, and thereafter an associate professorthe first indigenous woman to acquire the rank. Her venture into politics plunged her into new controversies and, ironically, resulted in more publicity for the GBM. A. 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. Roland Hoksbergen and Lowell M. Ewert (Monrovia, CA: World Vision International, 2002). Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). While working for the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976, Maathai came up with . . 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? 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. 30. These groups played critical roles in shaping the values and politics that she espoused for social justice, sustainable development, and climate change. The impact of changes in rural Kenya was complicated by emerging corruption among Kenyas elite. 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). Maathais election to parliament was almost an anticlimax. Initially, the NCWK was an organization led by urban elite women and intended to give a voice to womens organizations. During this period the GBM thrived, leading to the recognition of Maathai. 62. With Maathais guidance, the program went from a series of local womens activities into a national and international phenomenon. By the time that the GBM had spread out to other African countries, acquiring a pan-African perspective and reputation, it had already taken deep roots in rural Kenya. These changes were advocated by the R. J. M. Swynnerton Plan of 1954. Higher Education 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. 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. Maathai had been successful in building a grassroots movement, but she fell into the trap of competitive politics as the best way forward. Her achievements were appealing to all ideological shades. This source greatly helped my understanding of the 59. Maathai, Unbowed, 5960; and Ndegwa, Walking in Kenyatta Struggles, 8791. 50. 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. 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. However, some people who had early contact with colonialists and missionaries lost valuable land and were displaced, while others were relegated to migrant labor. Suffice it to say, she mobilized local and international communities to save Uhuru Park from being turned into a concrete jungle. Most studies have focused on the societal importance of marriage and the negative effects of divorce on families. It also diffused opportunities for deepening an understanding of environment challenges in the country. Events around this election occasioned unsolicited media publicity for Maathai. 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. She appealed to environmental and peace constituencies in the global development establishment and was heartily recognized. The degree was conferred by the President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, then Chancellor of University College, Nairobi. 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. 41. . << /Filter /FlateDecode /S 128 /Length 115 >> Future research could explore further the tensions that marriages of educated elites encountered, while still embedded in their ethnic traditions. In this regard, Nyeri was the epicenter of the freedom struggle. Modern farming methods were introduced to small-scale farmers through the provision of extension services and credit facilities. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. AfDB, Eminent Speakers Program, Wangari Maathai Underscores Importance of Good Governance in Poverty Reduction Efforts, October 27, 2010. When cash crops were introduced, again it was men who were registered in the cooperatives and received payments after deliveries of tea and coffee. Published March 28, 2023. 27 0 obj Wangari Muta was born on April 1, 1940, in Ihithe, Nyeri Province, Kenya during British colonial rule. in biology, 1964) and at the University of Pittsburgh (M.S., 1966). Updates? Maathai shared her amazing life story with the world in the 2006 memoir Unbowed. 33. Dr. Samuel Kobia, Annetta Miller, Harold Miller, Ms . << /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 >> Her impact and influence had extended well beyond her constituency in Tetu, Kenya, and far beyond Africa. An interview with Ms. Lillian W. Mwaura, former chairperson of NCWK, 1987 to 1996, November 15, 2018. 18. While her father was formally educated, her mother was not. Each of these fields of her engagement merit detailed analysis as was done with the GBM. Wangari Maathai, The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience (New York: Lantern Books, 2003); and Maathai, The Challenge for Africa. First, it is necessary to interrogate and appreciate the less than ideal circumstances under which the GBM rose and flourished. In these initial attempts, no distinct ideological orientation or program of action could distinguish her from other politicians in the country. Thus she became Wangari Muta Maathai, asserting her African identity and freedom to be known and called by the names she wanted (Maathai, Unbowed, 147). Such strengths also helped to secure funding for the GBM and to ensure, in some measure, Maathais personal security. 26 0 obj Maathai was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica College (now Benedictine College; B.S. All the girls in the school came from the same community, but were prohibited from speaking their language. This led to intensified competition for natural resources and further encroachment on forests and water towers.43. These skills stayed with me wherever I went from then on.20 However, this educational experience failed to expose Maathai to the ongoing civil rights struggle or the intense debates in the United States at that time on the vagaries of the Vietnam War. These factors, together with the limited number of schools in colonial Kenya, meant that the young Maathai was very fortunate. Maathai was born in polygamous family. He also discusses the place of indigenous languages in liberation from cultural enslavement in Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (Nairobi, Kenya: Heinemann Educational, 1986). 24. By Mary Pipher Dr. Pipher is a clinical psychologist and the author, most recently, of "A Life in . In 1977, Wangari Maathai started a campaign that came to be known as the Green Belt Movement in her home country of Kenya. Richard Jolly, Underestimated Influence: UN Contributions to Development Ideas, Leadership, Influence and Impact, in International Development: Ideas, Experience, and Prospects, ed. Among these were the rapid transformation that took place in the countryside, especially in central Kenya where Maathai grew up, and the impact this transformation had on the environment, which in turn shaped the concerns that the GBM raised. Maathai had the unique opportunity of going to school when girls in her age group were typically not given the opportunity of doing so. 55. 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. 48. Hence Maathai was shaped mainly by Gikuyu culture, colonial and postcolonial history, contacts with Catholic clergy, nuns, and grassroots women. Primary Sources Overview . Hence the proliferation of NGOs with concerns such as the environment, the development of microfinance, peace building, human rights, and the empowerment of women.55 This was accompanied by increased funding for civil society organizations due to increased concerns about the accountability of governments which were also perceived as authoritarian and corrupt. Maathais parents were among the first people to interact with and gain some education from the missionaries (athomi or asomi). In 1966, Maathai returned to Kenya confident and with high hopes for making a contribution to the newly independent country. 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. 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. Was a prominent Kenyan environmental and political activist and environmentalist Wangari Maathai was educated the! Other politicians in the global development establishment and was very protective of her demanding career an. On the societal importance of Good governance in Poverty Reduction Efforts, October 27, 2010 Maathai shared her life..., it is necessary to interrogate and appreciate the less than ideal circumstances under which the is... 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