“Sharmi Speaks”
Wangari Maathai — The First African Environmentalist Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize
By — Sharmi Thavayogarajah*
She was an environmentalist, she was a humanitarian, she was a woman, and she was brave.
She grew up in a rural community, called Nyeri in Kenya, raised by her mother and father. She was part of the Kikuyu tribe, for which she was discriminated against at the early stages of her career. As Wangaari reminisced about her life on the farm fields, she grew up harvesting with her mother. She used her imaginations to create a dream for herself. Wangari Maathai went on to study past primary and high school in Kenya where she topped her classes. She received a scholarship to study at St. Scholastica College in the United States of America. But she did not stop there, she went as far as a Ph.D, being the first woman in East Africa to receive one.
On her return to Nairobi, Wangari was ready to lecture at the University of Nairobi, however this job offer was withdrawn due to gender and tribal discrimination.
In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement (GBM) , an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights. It was founded to respond to the needs of rural Kenyan women who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and that they had to walk further to get firewood for fuel and fencing. GBM encouraged the women to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood, and receive a small monetary token for their work.
In 1992, Maathai was beaten and jailed for her protests against then President Daniel Arap Moi’s government, including its plans to build a 60-storey government building in the middle of Uhuru Park in central Nairobi. She was beaten to the point she was taken to hospital. This, however, did not stop her. When released, she continued to do exactly the things she was arrested for.
At the end of her campaign, Maathai was an elected member of the Parliament and served as the Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki between January 2003 and November 2005.
Wangarĩ Maathai was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. “Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment.” Maathai thought.
Wangari died in 2011, from ovarian cancer. Yet, Her legacy truly lives on through the Movement which to date remains in an active position of advocating for environmental conservation in Kenya, and making tremendous progress on reclaiming and restoring forest land. It further lives in the 50 million plus trees she has planted. Beyond it all, she continues to live in the hearts of the rural African women she helped.
“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and the seeds of hope.’’ — Wangari Maathai
*Sharmi authors the “Sharmi Speaks” Column of the Just My Nature Blog. Every week she shares inspiring stories of female environmentalists from all over the world.
