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| Affiliation | Mazingira Green Party of Kenya |
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| Name | Wangari Maathai |
| Address |
Nyeri, Central Province , Kenya |
| Email | None |
| Website | [Link] |
| Born |
April 01, 1940 |
| Died |
September 25, 2011
(71 years) |
| Contributor | 411 Name Removed |
| Last Modifed | Juan Croniqueur
Jul 30, 2023 01:07am |
| Tags |
African - Cancer -
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| Info | Wangari Maathai is an environmental and political activist. In 2004 she became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace."
Maathai received her Bachelor's in Biology from Mount St. Scholastica (now Benedictine College), and her master's from the University of Pittsburgh, before returning to Nairobi, where, at the University of Nairobi, she earned the first Ph.D. awarded to an Eastern African woman (in veterinary medicine). In 1971, she became professor for veterinary anatomy at the University of Nairobi, and then later dean of her faculty. In 2002 Maathai accepted a position as Visiting Fellow at Yale University's Global Institute for Sustainable Forestry.
Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement - a grass-roots environmental lobby - in 1977, which planted 12 million trees across the country to prevent soil erosion. Since then, she has been increasingly active on both environmental and women's issues.
Maathai was also the former chairperson of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (the National Council of Women of Kenya). In the 1980s her husband divorced her, saying she was too strong-minded for a woman.
In 1997 she ran for president of Kenya, but her party withdrew her candidacy. Under the regime of President Daniel Arap Moi, she was imprioned several times and violently attacked for demanding multi-party elections and an end to corruption and tribal politics. Maathai was elected to parliament in 2002 when Mwai Kibaki defeated Uhuru Kenyatta. She has been Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife since 2003.
"Maathai stood up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya" the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement announcing her as the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner. "Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression - nationally and internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation."
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