By Becki M’mari
What does it mean to be a hero? As a globally recognized pioneer in the fight for social and environmental justice, Professor Wangari Muta Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, and was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. To many, she was a hero because of her commitment to fostering innovation and positive growth. Born and raised in the highlands of Kenya, Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctoral degree. From there, she became the first woman elected as Chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Nairobi.
One of Maathai’s most pivotal and meaningful contributions was creating the Green Belt Movement, an environmental organization empowering women to make meaningful improvements to their surrounding communities by conserving energy. In rural African communities, as well as many other villages in the world, women are tasked with domestic duties, but they also provide food, water, and collect firewood.
The Green Belt Movement intended to respond to the concerns of rural Kenyan women, “who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and they had to walk further and further to get firewood for fuel and fencing.” Increased deforestation and urbanization have meant that many women require traveling farther for necessities such as firewood, which also means that duties such as taking care of their children or tending to crops cannot be fulfilled.
Since starting the Green Belt Movement in the 1970s, over 30 million trees have been planted across Kenya, and many still stand today. Planting more trees generates fresher air to breathe, filters drinking water, reduces erosion, and prevents flooding.
Furthermore, Wangari Maathai used her powerful position as a leader through The Green Belt Movement to advocate for democracy. Because of her boldness and willingness to stand against Kenya’s dictatorship regime, Maathai was frequently subject to harassment and jail stints. She said, “It is as clear as day. You cannot protect the environment if you do not have democratic governance [or] democratic space.” Her activism influenced a vast group of people, and Kenya legalized opposition parties, moving forward in their aim to become a democracy.
Wangari Maathai is a hero because she dedicated her life to helping others and championing what she believed. Maathai served the women’s rights movement, the fight for democracy, and environmental justice campaigns. She heavily influenced Black history by creating services for her people to prosper. She, heroically, overcame adversity in her personal and political life to be an agent of change for women, the Black community, and her peers.
http://www.cstraight.com, C. M.-. (n.d.). Biography. Biography | The Green Belt Movement. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai/biography
The Green Belt Movement: 40 years of Impact – Goldman Environmental Prize. Goldman Environmental Prize -. (2022, March 30).
The Green Belt Movement: 40 years of Impact – Goldman Environmental Prize.
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