The life of Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai was an environmental and political activist, who is perhaps best known for being the first woman from Africa to win the Nobel Peace Prize, a feat which she accomplished in 2004. She received the award for her outstanding contributions to sustainable peace, democracy and development.

Tunde Folawiyo, and others who are familiar with her career, may know that Maathai was also the first woman in all of Central and East Africa to complete a doctorate, and was the first female professor to work in a Kenyan university. In addition to her academic achievements, Maathai wrote four books, entitled 'Replenishing the Earth', 'The Challenge for Africa', 'Unbowed: A Memoir', and 'The Green Belt Movement'.

Born in 1940, in Nyeri Kenya, Maathai completed her undergraduate studies at Atchison's Mount St. Scholastica College, after which she moved to the USA, in order to attend the University of Pittsburgh. In 1966, after being awarded a Master of Science degree from this institute, Maathai returned home, where she obtained a PhD at the University of Nairobi.

Shortly after this, during the early 1970s, she decided to establish a non-governmental environmental organisation called the Green Belt Movement, which focused on women's rights, conservation and the planting of trees. The GBM began to spread to other countries around the continent, eventually resulting in 30 million trees being planted. More than three decades after it was first launched, the GBM, and Maathai became the subject of a documentary made by Marlboro productions, entitled 'Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai'.

Tunde Folawiyo, and others who have heard of Maathai, may recall that her work won her the Right Livelihood Award in 1986 and, as mentioned above, the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 . In regards to the latter, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Maathai for her bravery in choosing to protest against the oppressive regime in Kenya, and noted that her work had led to a greater awareness of political oppression, not only in her native country, but in other nations around the world. The committee described her as an 'inspiration'.

Twelve years after receiving the latter, she became the founder of the Nobel Women's Initiative, which she ran with other female laureates, including Mairead Corrigan, Betty Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams. She also worked on the AWEPA (Association of European Parliaments with Africa) Advisory Board up until 2011, when she passed away.