Wangari Muta Maathai, who received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, spoke to Dartmouth students Thursday evening about her initiatives to protect the environment and support women's rights in Africa.
In her speech, Maathai examined Africa's ability to evolve and modernize through environmental action.
The environmental activist is most noted for founding the Green Belt Movement, an environmental organization that promotes sustainable development, the empowerment of women and the spread of basic human rights such as clean water and food. Maathai's organization has sponsored the planting of over 30 million trees throughout Africa, an endeavor aimed to combat the trend of deforestation throughout the continent.
"The most important thing is to assure yourself you are doing the right thing," Maathai said of her work.
The first Eastern or Central African woman to receive a Ph.D., Maathai linked receiving the Nobel Prize to her pride in Africa.
"It feels as if Africa is making a contribution to the world," Maathai said.
Maathai also talked about her interactions with corrupt and obstinate governments dedicated to staying in power.
"We have seen African leaders being predatory on their own people," Maathai said, citing a Kenyan law mandating that large groups of people could not meet at one time without a permit.
In contrast, the Green Belt Movement has chosen positive outlets of action.
"We did not advocate violence but we advocated participation," Maathai said. Maathai first experienced the disadvantages of being a woman as a professor in Kenya. There, women were paid lower salaries than men were, and women struggled to earn the intellectual respect that men had, she said.
Maathai used the Green Belt Movement to employ more women and increase their economic independence.
The professor stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy environment. Climate change, coastal ecosystems and recycling comprised key components of the speech.
"The environment is a central part, and we should invest in it," Maathai said.
Maathai's leadership led to a landslide victory when she ran for a seat in Kenya's parliament in 2002. She earned 98 percent of the vote.
Maathai said open discourse was essential to alleviating problems in Africa. "We must recognize where Africa is coming from," Maathai said. "The only way to promote this [movement] is by creating different democratic space and letting different voices be heard."
Maathai shared an old Kenyan saying with the audience to describe Africa's standing in world affairs.
"That which can be pushed has legs, Africa has legs," Maathai said.
Western nations such as the United States are necessary for Africa's economic growth, Maathai said as she emphasized the countless number of Africans who are ready to modernize and move ahead but need help from the modern world.
"Africa may lack skill and capital, therefore she needs the western world to support her," Maathai said.
Maathai also put some of the burden on Africans themselves. Efforts on the part of individual Africans are also essential for change to occur, she said.
