Wangari Maathai (1940 - 2011) was a Kenyan ecologist and politician. Her fight for the environment and human rights led to her being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, thus becoming the first African and black woman to receive the honor..
Thanks to a scholarship, Maathai went to the United States of America to study. He first earned his bachelor's degree from Mount St. Scholastica College (now Benedictine College), then he earned a master's degree from the University of Pittsburg.
Later, Wangari Maathai received a Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi in Kenya, thus becoming the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Central and East Africa. He was also a member of the Parliament of his nation.
In the 1970s, Maathai started the Green Belt Movement, an organization that promotes environmental conservation, tree planting, and women's rights..
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Wangari Muta was born on April 1, 1940, in Nyeri, Kenya. His father was Muta Njugi and his mother Wanjiru Kibicho, both members of the Kĩkũyũ ethnic group. Muta worked as a farmer and Wanjiru engaged in household activities, as was common among local women.
In Kenyan society it was normal for men to take charge of the family in social and economic aspects. Likewise, formal education was reserved almost entirely for men..
Wangari's family noticed the girl's intellectual potential from a very young age, so they decided to send her to school at the age of eight. The girl began to receive her basic education at Ihithe Primary School, where her brothers studied.
She was then sent to a Catholic boarding school called St. Cecilia's Intermediate Primary School, where she stayed for four years. There she learned to speak English and was received as the best in her class.
She was later admitted to a girls 'high school called Loreto Girls' High School in Limuru, Kenya..
The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation created a scholarship program for outstanding Kenyan students to receive higher education in the United States. In 1960 Wangari Muta was one of the beneficiaries of the program called Kennedy Airlift (Air Bridge).
Wangari received a Bachelor of Science from Mount St. Scholastica College, Atchinson, Kansas, in 1964. He then completed a Master of Science in Biology at the University of Pittsburg, thanks to another scholarship from the Africa-America Institute.
At that time Wangari Muta became familiar with the environmental struggle that was gaining relevance in the United States. He was also able to observe how the Americans freely expressed their discontent over the Vietnam War and thought that each individual should be able to express himself peacefully..
After finishing his studies in the United States, Wangari Muta returned to Kenya. She thought she would get a job as a research assistant in Zoology at the University of Nairobi, but the position was assigned to someone else..
However, months later he received an invitation to work in the microanatomy area of the School of Veterinary Medicine. Began working at the University of Nairobi in 1966.
Wangari Muta also started a business that year: he rented a shop and opened a shop that was run by his sisters..
The professor who had landed him the position as a research assistant, Reinhold Hofmann, recommended that he move to Germany for doctoral studies and Wangari Muta took his advice..
He studied for a time at the University of Giessen and the same at Munich, Germany. After that she returned to Kenya, in 1969, continued her studies and began working as an assistant professor at the University of Nairobi.
In 1971 Wangari Muta obtained his doctorate in Veterinary Anatomy. In this way, she became the first woman from East Africa to receive that academic degree..
Wangari Muta met Mwangi Mathai in 1966; The couple got married in May 1969, after the biologist returned from Germany and since then she has adopted her husband's surname. The first child of the couple, whom they named Waweru, was born in 1970.
Another daughter of the couple was born in late 1971 and they named her Wanjira. Following Wangari Mathai's graduation as a Doctor, she began teaching Anatomy at the University of Nairobi.
The third son of the Mathai, named Muta, arrived in 1974. Two years later Wangari Mathai managed to become the head of his department within the higher education center..
Wangari Muta Mathai's academic achievements are remarkable because she was the first woman in her country to get these positions within a university. In 1977 she also obtained the position of associate professor.
Wangari Mathai knew that her achievements were a milestone for African women and that is why she promoted equal working conditions for men and women. In fact, he tried to create a union within the University of Nairobi.
Mwangi Mathai officially filed for divorce from his wife in 1979, although they had been separated since 1977. He also asked that she stop using his last name, but Wangari preferred to add an "a" to it, thus becoming known as Wangari Maathai..
During the 1970s, Wangari Maathai was part of the Kenya Red Cross Society, of which she became director in 1973. She also joined civic organizations such as the Kenyan Association of University Women and other programs promoted by the United Nations..
In 1964 the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) was founded and in the 1970s Wangari Maathai joined the organization. The biologist considered that one of the main problems of Kenyan society was linked to environmental deterioration.
Maathai ran for president of the NCWK, but did not get it by a difference of three votes. The following year he did get the position, but due to differences with the Kenyan government, many of the organization's funds were suppressed..
While Wangari Maathai was at NCWK he conceived the idea of the Green Belt Movement o Green Belt Movement, with which they promoted environmental conservation as a method of improving the quality of life of the Kenyan inhabitants.
Women in Kenya were mainly in charge of activities such as gathering firewood and water, with which damage to the ecosystem affected them directly in their daily activities.
Politics was generally reserved for men, so the women's organization represented by NCWK, in which they were trying to jointly attack a problem, seemed a threatening action to many politicians..
Since 1977 reforestation has been one of the main actions of this group initiated by Wangari Maathai. To date, this association has planted more than 51 million trees..
In the following decade, the Green Belt Movement attracted the attention of various organizations promoted by the United Nations and this led to the movement expanding beyond the borders of Kenya..
The Government of Kenya demanded that the Green Belt Movement and the NCWK separate, as one had to be focused on women's issues, while the other on the ecosystem, and both could not operate together. That is why in 1987 Wangari Maathai left the NCWK.
During the 1980s and 1990s, government pressure on Maathai was severe. They tried to publicly humiliate her for raising her voice against what she considered unfair and she was even arrested in 1992 on charges of treason and spreading malicious rumors..
Months later, thanks to international pressure, Wangari Maathai was released; furthermore, the charges against him were dropped. In any case, his opposition to the regime of Daniel Arap Moi remained firm..
In 1997 Wangari Maathai was a candidate for Parliament and for the presidency for the Liberal Party, but she did not have support and lost the elections. She ran again as a candidate for Parliament in 2002, as a representative of the National Rainbow Coalition and won the victory.
The party to which Maathai belonged won the elections against the African National Union of Kenya, which had been ruling the country for 40 years. In 2003 Wangari Muta Maathai was appointed Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.
Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for his "contributions to sustainable development, democracy and peace." In this way, she became the first African woman to receive this honor..
In 2005 she was appointed first president of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union.
Wangari Muta Maathai died on September 25, 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya, at the age of 71. He had suffered from ovarian cancer for a time and, finally, died as a result of complications related to this disease.
- Green Belt Movement - (The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience), 2003.
- With your head held high - (Unbowed: A Memoir), 2006.
- The challenge for Africa - (The Challenge for Africa), 2009.
- Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World, 2010.
- Right Livelihood Award, 1984.
- Better World Society Award, 1986.
- Windstar Award for the Environment, 1988.
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from William's College of the United States, 1990.
- Offeramus Medal, from Benedictine College, 1990.
- Goldman Environmental Award, 1991.
- Global 500 Honor Roll, United Nations Environment Program, 1991.
- Hunger Project African Leadership Award, 1991.
- Edinburgh Medal, 1993.
- Jane Adams Leadership Award, 1993.
- His Excellency Order of the Golden Ark, 1994.
- Ph.D. of Science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 1994.
- International Women's Forum International Women's Hall of Fame, 1995.
- PhD in Agriculture from the University of Norway, 1997.
- Julie Hollister Award, 2001.
- Kenyan Community Overseas Award of Excellence, 2001.
- Bridges to Community Outstanding Commitment and Vision Award, 2002.
- WANGO Environmental Award, 2003.
- Elder of the Order of the Burning Lance awarded by the Republic of Kenya, 2003.
- Conservative Scientific Award, 2004.
- J. Sterling Morton Award, 2004.
- Petra Kelly Environmental Award, 2004.
- Sophie Award, 2004.
- Nobel Peace Prize, 2004.
- Juris Doctor from Yale University, 2004.
- Member of the Legion d'honneur (French) in its category "Chevalier”, 2006.
- Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from the University of Pittsburgh, 2006.
- World Citizenship Award from the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, 2007.
- Livingstone Medal, from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, 2007.
- Indira Gandhi Award, 2007.
- Member of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japanese) in its first class, 2009.
- Honorary Doctorate of Science from Syracuse University of New York, 2013.
- “Until you dig a hole, plant a tree, water it and make it survive, you have done nothing. You're just talking ".
- "The sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace".
- “Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then protect ”.
- “My spirit, the essence of my work, is also contained in the symbol of a tree. I believe that nature unites the cultures of the world ".
- “In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to change to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral base (…). That moment is now ".
- "There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments".
- “The generation that destroys the environment is not the generation that pays the price. That's the problem".
- “We all share a planet and we are one humanity; there is no escape from this reality ".
- "When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope".
- "What people see as bravery is really persistence.".
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