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. The intention was to pacify central Kenya and create a favorable apolitical climate for consolidating the interests of settlers and the colonial administration. Hence, she decided to correct the confusion by adopting her full name, Mary Josephine Wangari Muta. Such was the world into which Maathai was born in 1940 and subsequently raised. 26. She challenged this in court, but her petition was dismissed. 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. Researching ticks at the University of Nairobi also exposed Maathai to the environmental degradation taking place in rural Kenya and its impact on the livelihoods of rural women. stream 33. 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 . Her work was often considered both unwelcome and subversive in her own country, where her outspokenness constituted stepping far outside traditional gender roles. 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. 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. Each of these fields of her engagement merit detailed analysis as was done with the GBM. 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. These groups played critical roles in shaping the values and politics that she espoused for social justice, sustainable development, and climate change. The attendant inequalities in the country were analyzed and flagged by the International Labour Organization Report of 1972. 51. The interplay of these dynamics served in critical ways to shape the life work of Prof. Wangari Maathai which was recognized and awarded in 2004 with the Nobel Peace Prize. However, both were interested in Western education.5 They realized the value of education and encouraged their children to attend school. She was tasked with domestic chores as was expected of young girls in traditional society. This was a rare occurrence in her male-dominated society. Daniel Branch, Kenya: Between Hope and Despair, 19632012 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), 249251; and Karuti Kanyinga and Duncan Okello, eds., Tensions and Reversals in Democratic Transitions: The Kenya 2007 General Elections (Nairobi, Kenya: Society for International Development and Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, 2010), 169. Suffice it to say, she mobilized local and international communities to save Uhuru Park from being turned into a concrete jungle. These agrarian reforms were adopted and intensified by the postcolonial government, leading to the increased degradation of rural areas. Historian G. Muriuki refers to this early mixing of ethnic groups in The History of the Kikuyu, 15001900 (Nairobi, Kenya: Oxford University Press, 1974). Christian missionaries, in corollary fashion, established mission stations for evangelism and offered limited basic education to the indigenous people.2 In the community where Maathai was raised there was limited interaction with other Kenyan ethnic communities, although sporadic interaction with Maasai herders in their quest for grazing areas was common. 29. Maathai is still remembered for her determined and persistent efforts to safeguard Uhuru Park and the Karura Forest for future generations, for her solidarity with mothers of political detainees, as well as her relentless efforts for peace and to end election-related violence in the Rift Valley region and in the country since 1992 when multiparty politics were allowed. Her family had established the precedent of educating girls, just as an older uncle had done.6 Together with her mother, Maathai left a settlers farm in Nakuru, where her father was working, to return to Ihithe village in the Nyeri districtone of the rural areas designated for Africans, termed native reserves,so that she could attend school. When conflict engulfed central Kenya and some men went into the forest to fight and others detained, it was women who took care of their families: providing food, building houses, and in some cases educating children.52 When Maathai came home during the school holidays, this was the reality that confronted her. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. It was bolstered by the introduction of cash crops such as coffee, tea, pyrethrum, and the introduction of exotic dairy cows. 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 . 16. Maathais exposure to other Kenyan ethnic communities broadened when she moved onto a settlers farm in the Nakuru area where her father was employed. As the first African woman to . The University of Nairobi, which had denied her a job in 1982, honored her with an honorary doctorate in 2005 and hosts the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies (WMI), which promotes research on land use, peace, and sustainable development. 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. The culture of planting trees took root everywhere in Kenya toward the end of last decade of the 20th century. Her achievements were appealing to all ideological shades. 15. Prof. Hofmann had a mission to fulfill at the emerging University College, Nairobi: to establish a Department of Veterinary Anatomy in the School of Veterinary Medicine. Events around this election occasioned unsolicited media publicity for Maathai. 56. By mobilizing women to plant and care for trees, Maathai changed the thinking and practices of conserving the environment at a time when dominant global thinking on the environment and womens role in society was grappling for transformation. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Kenya, Bridging Ethnic Divides: A Commissioners Experience on Cohesion and Integration (Nairobi, Kenya: Mdahalo Bridging Divides, 2018). 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. It's teamwork. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Women were in control and were making the vital decisions at home, in the village, and at school. 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. 60. This policy was implemented from the mid-1950s and accelerated in the 60s and 70s by the independent government of Kenya. It also diffused opportunities for deepening an understanding of environment challenges in the country. But as land consolidation and registration went on in central Kenya, it was men who were registered as owners, although it was women who cultivated the land. Her entire life was thus characterized by learning, critical observations, engagement, interactions with people, and advocacy for change. It became known as the home of renowned Mau Mau freedom fighters, outstanding postcolonial leaders, and intellectuals.4 Leaders such as the legendary freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi, former President Mwai Kibaki, and Wangari Maathai had their beginnings in the district. Maathais parents were among the first people to interact with and gain some education from the missionaries (athomi or asomi). 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. Maathai was a pragmatic rather than a dogmatic figure, with no rigid ideological stance in her engagement with the environment and the politics of Kenya. Diversified international funding helped build a unique and solid international constituency that sustained the GBM financially and politically. To begin with, Maathai had to contest for a position in the NCWK leadership. Maendeleo ya Wanawake was such a grassroots organization established during the colonial period and after independence had developed a countrywide network of grassroots affiliates.30. Hence Maathai was shaped mainly by Gikuyu culture, colonial and postcolonial history, contacts with Catholic clergy, nuns, and grassroots women. 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. The Early Years and Education "It was during the mbura ya njahi - the season of long rains, in 1940 that Wangari Maathai was born. Most people think of Ms. Maathai as an environmentalist, planting trees. As a result of the movements activism, similar initiatives were begun in other African countries, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. In 1966, Maathai returned to Kenya confident and with high hopes for making a contribution to the newly independent country. A. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. Though such encounters in colonial Kenya were often limited, Maathai strived to base these relationships on equality, freedom, dignity, learning, and mobilization in common pursuit of sustainable development. She benefited mainly from the tide of change which was sweeping the country, not because she had articulated her own political ideas.42. Wangari Maathai held her Nobel Lecture December 10, 2004, in the Oslo City Hall, Norway. Often their phone calls, faxes, lettersor, later, e-mailsor simply their presence made the difference at a crucial moment. With Maathais guidance, the program went from a series of local womens activities into a national and international phenomenon. The overall objective was to control the politics of womens empowerment.33 The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) was also a victim of a similar tactic when it became a fierce critic of the authoritarian tendencies of the Moi regime. 25. 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. They returned to Kenya soon after independence. 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. . 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). She creatively defied this by changing her last name to Maathai, by adding an a to her ex-husbands surname. 47. Member organizations were usually part of a countrywide network that resonated with concerns of grassroots women. 30. Once again finding her options limited, she went on to pursue a doctorate from the University of Giessen in Germany. The first indigenous woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai started school in 1948 at Ihithe Primary School. In the last three decades it has become the cosmopolitan and partially urbanized County of Nyeri. Wangari Maathai, The Challenge for Africa: A New Vision (London: William Heinemann, 2009); on culture, 160183; and on mother tongues, 220226. Wangari Muta married Mwangi Mathai in 1969. 13. The contending social forces of the colonial period persisted in postcolonial Kenya, impinging on the concept of modern marriage and incipient African womanhood. Local experiences also infused global thinking and appreciation of struggles for democratic governance, peace, and sustainable development. . The influence of the nuns began in this school and continued all the way to university. Justin Chang reviews Showing Up.Groban first auditioned to . As a national school, Loreto High School provided Maathai with the opportunity to interact with girls from other ethnic groups in Kenya. In the forests of Aberdares and Mount Kenya, guerilla warfare was intense. Maathai interacted on a daily basis with women who were decision-makers and leaders. Maathai was an elected member of the Parliament of Kenya and between January 2003 and November 2005 served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki. Wangari Maathai, the most prominent environmental activist in Africa, was the 2004 recipient of the Alfred Nobel Peace Prize. 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. This, she did at high personal risk to her and to her friends. Wangari Maathai is a young woman who saw deforestation turn the lush lands of Kenya into a barren desert. 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. Elsewhere, especially in the Rift Valley, where people were embroiled in state-sponsored ethnic conflicts since the early 1990s, Maathai joined with the churches, democratic activists, civil society organizations, international and local press to highlight atrocities committed against nonKalenjin ethnic communities in various parts of the Rift Valley. 27. Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai . The first attempt in 1982 was blocked; in the 1997 attempt, she failed to secure a seat. All the girls in the school came from the same community, but were prohibited from speaking their language. Perchance they helped Maathai consolidate her thinking and understanding of environmental issues in Kenya and helped her to identify follow up actions that needed to be taken. The Green Belt Movement, an organization she founded in 1977, had by the early 21st century planted some 30 million trees. Wangari Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount . Roland Hoksbergen and Lowell M. Ewert (Monrovia, CA: World Vision International, 2002). endobj On Sunday, Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died. While Maathai was cloistered in Catholic schools, the country was undergoing the turbulence of Mau Mau resistance against British colonialism. She was narrowly defeated in the race for the top position, but was consoled by being appointed vice-chairperson, elected by an overwhelming majority. Further information about these conferences can be found in the Links to Digital Materials section. In her writings, Maathai refers to Maasai influence on her mothers side.3. 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. Political activist and environmentalist Wangari Maathai was trained to be a leader. 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. endobj The resulting dislocation and labor migration initiated an environmental transformation that was accelerated in subsequent decades. Maathai, Unbowed, 5960; and Ndegwa, Walking in Kenyatta Struggles, 8791. Wangari Maathai went to college in the United States, earning degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964) and the University of Pittsburgh (1966). Omissions? While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Cyrus G. Mutiso, Kenya: Politics Policy and Society (Nairobi, Kenya: East African Literature Bureau, 1975), 145, described the concept Asomi as Africans who early on acquired missionary education and differentiated themselves from those who had no Western education. In this regard, Nyeri was the epicenter of the freedom struggle. In 2004, Prof. Maathai became the first African woman to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace". Maathai seems to have been aware of these tensions as she juggled the roles of mother, politicians wife, and university teacher, as well as affirming herself as an African womanin manner of dressing, hospitality at home, and speaking local languages to meet the expectations of her husbands constituents.28 Hence her marriage might have become a theater of contestations of different perceptions of womanhood in independent Kenya. 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. 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. In other African countries, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, and climate.! In court, but were prohibited from speaking their language name to Maathai, by adding an a to and... 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