photo: Green Belt Movement

Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women. I cannot think of anyone more deserving beside my mother to blog about on this day than Wangari Maathai.

Wangari Maathai was born in Kenya, Africa in 1940. She was the first woman to earn a doctorate degree in East and Central Africa and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She is internationally recognized for her relentless struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She started the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization whose focus is the planting of trees with women groups in order to conserve the environment and improve their quality of life. She endured gender discriminations, arrests, beatings, and death threats for women’s rights. Her story is heroic not only for her struggles against social conditions but that of triumphs, courage, passion and success through adversity.

To learn more about Wangari Maathai’s Green Belt Movement, click here. Visit Amazon to buy her memoir, “Unbowed”.

Have a wonderful day.

XOXO

Tawa