5 Things You Didn’t know About Wangari Maathai!
Apart from her work championing for environmental conservation which earned her the Nobel Peace Prize, what else do you know about the remarkable icon that is Wangari Maathai?
Well, here are some facts I bet you didn’t know!
She was an academic!
Wangari Maathai was a Senior Lecturer in Anatomy at The University of Nairobi. Yes! She was the first woman to chair the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the university.
That’s not all. She used her position to champion for equal benefits for the women working at the University!
A Force to reckon with in the Political Arena.
Most of us know Wangari Maathai’s political works as a Member of Parliament and an Assistant Minister but her political career began long before all this. She was at the fore front in the struggle for democracy and Multi-party system in Kenya. She played a key role in unifying Kenyans and challenging tribal based politics.
She was a mother!
Evidently, motherhood and being a career woman are not mutually exclusive! Wangari Maathai thrived in the different paths she ventured be it academia, politics, advocacy and did so while being a mom!
She was a great writer!
Some of her most renowned works include her Memoir; Unbowed, The Challenge for Africa and the Green Belt Movement. Add them to your reading list!
Like most, if not all of us she had tough times!
Wangari was a force to reckon with! And her being a woman, fearless in the pursuit of political, social and economic advancement of Kenya did not make life any easier for her.
She faced political opposition as well as personal problems leading to a divorce. In addition, she encountered financial challenges, lacked employment and was even evicted from her staff housing. But clearly, she conquered all this!
This March, as we celebrate Women’s Month, let us take time to nurture the young girls in our lives to fully explore their potential. Read them books and expose them to kids’ content that will bring out the best in them. Akili Kids! TV is my go-to destination for that!
My nieces get to see young girls just like them doing great things on shows like Dora the Explorer, Word Girl, Sci Girls, Ubongo Kids and My Better World!
What are some of the icons you grew looking up to?