Wangari Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement, and a woman in STEM of many ‘firsts’. Maathai was the first African woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, for her work and contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace. She was the first female doctorate scholar – in Biology, from central and east Africa. As well as Kenya’s first female professor, and later on became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy .
The Green Belt Movement started in the late 1970s in Maathai’s home-country Kenya. The movement in time spread to other African countries and is responsible for more than 30 million trees being planted. Wangari sought to find a solution for the deforestation that was crippling and changing Kenya’s landscape. This movement started with simply planting trees but soon became a movement to empower African women, to ecologically think of sustainable ways to harmoniously co-exist with the landscape.
The late Dr. Maathai (she unfortunately passed from ovarian cancer in 2011) modeled what a passionate, hard-working, humanitarian focused individual should strive to be. She gave a voice and shined light on many women that would have not gotten the chance, had Wangari Maathai not broken that ceiling for them. For her extensive humanitarian work she has been awarded many achievements – campaigning for women’s rights in Africa, raising AIDS awareness and advocating for sustainable development – to name a few.
Click here to watch Wangari Maathai deliver her 2004 Nobel Peace Prize speech. Wangari Maathai is a phenomenal woman figure in STEM who was dedicated and passionate about maintaining environmental sustainability, democracy, peace and a women’s rights advocate. Her inspiration of creating a world where nature is not paying the price, is a goal we should all strive towards.
References:
Wangari Maathai – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Fri. 28 Feb 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2004/maathai/facts/
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 