10 questions · Society & Everyday
Wangari Maathai is born in Kenya in 1940, in a village surrounded by green forests and fertile fields. She is exceptionally bright and is given the rare chance to go to school and even study in the United States. Back in Kenya she becomes the first woman in all of East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate and later the first female professor in her country. Maathai sees how the forests in her homeland are being cut down, the soils drying out, and women having to walk long distances for firewood and water. Her answer is as simple as it is brilliant: plant trees. In 1977 she founds the "Green Belt Movement", which above all encourages women to grow and plant tree seedlings. Over the years tens of millions of trees are planted this way: against desertification and, at the same time, for women's income and dignity. But environmental protection in Kenya is also politics. Maathai boldly takes on the government to save forests and public land from destruction. For this she is threatened, arrested and beaten: but she does not give up. For her, a healthy environment, democracy and peace are inseparably linked. In 2004 Wangari Maathai is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: the first African woman ever to receive it. It is also recognition that environmental protection contributes to peace. Until her death in 2011 she remains a tireless champion of the nature and people of Africa: "the woman who planted trees".
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Nobel Peace Prize (first African woman)
It was also recognition that environmental protection contributes to peace.
💡 Did you know? In 2004 Maathai became the first African woman ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for linking conservation, democracy and peace.
Green Belt Movement
She especially encouraged women to grow and plant tree seedlings.
💡 Did you know? Her „Green Belt Movement“ saw tens of millions of trees planted across Kenya over the decades: chiefly by women.
planting trees
Against deforestation and soil erosion Maathai used one simple, effective remedy: planting trees on a large scale.
💡 Did you know? This is why she is called "the woman who planted trees".
Kenya
Her work targeted deforestation, soil erosion and desertification.
💡 Did you know? In Kenya Maathai was often attacked, beaten and jailed for her activism: but she refused to be intimidated.
first female PhD in East/Central Africa
She later also became the first female professor in her country.
💡 Did you know? Maathai was the first woman in all of East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate.
women (income and dignity)
Otherwise women had to walk long distances for firewood and water.
💡 Did you know? Tree-planting gave poor women income, firewood and new confidence: conservation and women's rights at once.
fight against environmental destruction / the government
Because Maathai also fought for democracy and against handing land to government cronies, she clashed sharply with the regime.
💡 Did you know? For her, environment, democracy and peace were inseparably linked.
the woman who planted trees
She remained a tireless champion of nature and people until her death in 2011.
💡 Did you know? For her life's work Maathai was fondly called „the woman who planted trees.“
Foto: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai (1940 to 2011) was a Kenyan environmental activist and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
💡 Did you know? Her „Green Belt Movement“ planted over 50 million trees: proof that a simple idea can change the world.
1940
Born: 1 April 1940 in Kenya
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