USA Africa Dialogue Series - Wangari Maatha: First African woman to win Nobel Peace Prize dies

First African woman to win Nobel Peace Prize dies
AP foreign, Monday September 26 2011

TOM ODULA

Associated Press= NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Wangari Maathai, the first
African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died after a long
struggle with cancer, the environmental organization she founded said
Monday. She was 71.

One of Kenya's most recognizable women, Maathai won the Nobel in 2004
for combining environmentalism and social activism. She was the
founder of the Green Belt Movement, where over 30 years she mobilized
poor women to plant 30 million trees.

Edward Wageni, that group's deputy executive director, said Maathai
died in a Nairobi hospital late Sunday. Maathai was in and out of the
hospital since the beginning of the year, he said.

In recognizing Maathai, the Nobel committee said that she had stood up
to a former oppressive regime in Kenya and that her "unique forms of
action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression."

Maathai said during her 2004 acceptance speech that the inspiration
for her life work came from her childhood experiences in rural Kenya,
where she witnessed forests being cleared and replaced by commercial
plantations, which destroyed biodiversity and the capacity of forests
to conserve water.

Although the Green Belt Movement's tree planting campaign did not
initially address the issues of peace and democracy, Maathai said it
become clear over time that responsible governance of the environment
was not possible without democracy.

"Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in
Kenya. Citizens were mobilized to challenge widespread abuses of
power, corruption and environmental mismanagement," Maathai said.

The Green Belt Movement, which was founded in 1977, said on its web
site that Maathai's death was a great loss to those who "admired her
determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier and better
place."

Maathai is survived her three children. Funeral arrangements were to
be announced soon, the Green Belt Movement said.

Online:

http://greenbeltmovement.org

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