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Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai on the Environment,
the War in Iraq, Debt and Women's Equality
Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai on the Environment,
the War in Iraq, Debt and Women's Equality
Today on this International Women's Day, we spend the hour
with Wangari Maathai, the first African woman and first environmentalist
to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. [includes rush
transcript]
Her life story is a remarkable one. Wangari Maathai grew
up in a rural village in Kenya. She excelled at school and
eventually won a scholarship to attend university in the United
States. After graduating with a degree in biological sciences
she went on to earn a master's degree from the University
of Pittsburgh. In 1971, she received her PhD from the University
of Nairobi, making her the first woman in eastern and central
Africa to earn a doctorate.
She then embarked on what would become a life-long campaign
against the government-backed forest clearances in Kenya.
In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement when she planted
nine tree seeds in the yard of her house. In the following
years, she succeeded in persuading women across Africa to
do the same. Today, about 30 million trees have been planted
across the continent to fight deforestation.
Throughout her life, Wangari Maathai has campaigned on issues
such as poverty, malnutrition, corruption, women's low economic
status and the lack of media freedom in Kenya. She has also
criticized the negative images of Africa in the Western media
and the reluctance of rich countries to relieve Africa's debt.
Kenya's former president, Daniel arap Moi, once called her
a "mad woman," and "a threat to the order and
security of the country." Over the years, she has been
arrested several times for her environmental campaigning.
In 1989, she forced the government to abandon plans to build
a skyscraper to house party headquarters on public land. In
1992, she was beaten unconscious by police during a hunger
strike. In 1999, she was whipped on the head and arrested
while trying to plant saplings to replace trees felled by
property developers. She caught the nation's attention when
she insisted on signing the police report with the blood from
her head.
She tried to run for president in 1997 but her candidacy
was cancelled on a technicality. After Moi's party lost a
presidential election in 2002, she was elected to parliament
and is now deputy environment minister on Kenya.
Last year, the Nobel committee named her the winner of the
2004 Nobel Peace prize saying, "Peace on Earth depends
on our ability to secure our living environment." She
received the award in December at a ceremony in Oslo.
- Wangari Maathai, accepting the Nobel Peace prize, December
10, 2004.
Wangari Maathai joins us today in our firehouse studio.
- Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner.
- Wanjira Maathai, daughter of Wangari Maathai. She is
the international liaison for the Green Belt Movement of
Kenya. She is a rising figure in Kenyan and international
environmental, women's and social justice movements.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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