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Wangari Muta Maathai

Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai is an environmental and political activist. In 2004 she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.”

Being Beneath the Dirt

Active on both environmental and women’s issues, Maathai has been imprisoned several times and violently attacked. She fought, for example, to end political corruption and tribal politics. In another instance, her husband of 11 years divorced her, claiming that she was too strong-minded for a woman and that he was unable to control her. The judge in the divorce case agreed with the husband, and Wangari was put in jail for speaking out against the judge.

Branching Out Roots for Balance

After finishing school in Kenya, Maathai traveled to the United States where she obtained a Master’s Degree in biology, before returning to Nairobi. There, she earned the first Ph.D. awarded to an Eastern African woman. Since that time, she has contributed immensely to environmental campaigns in Kenya. In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots environmental non-governmental organization, which has now planted over 40 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion. She later spearheaded the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign. She has come to be affectionately called “Tree Woman” or “The Tree Mother of Africa.”

Rising like a Surfacing Stem

In 1997, in Kenya’s second multi-party elections marred by ethnic violence, she ran for the country’s presidency. She was a minor candidate among several contenders. In 2002 Maathai was elected to parliament when the National Rainbow Coalition, which she represented, defeated the ruling party Kenya African National Union. She has been Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife since 2003, and in 2005, she was elected as the first president of the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council.

Reaching Fruition

In 2006, Maathai was one of the founders of The Nobel Women’s Initiative along with sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. These six women, representing North America and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, decided to bring together their experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality. The goal of the Nobel Women’s Initiative is to help strengthen work being done in support of women’s rights around the world.

Leaving a Legacy

In a statement announcing her as the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, “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.”

Disclaimer: Mud Puds bios are derived from widely-accepted “truths,” as shared in the Public Domain. In the absence of first-hand accounts, information is presented as: “Factual, as far as we know.”