Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Maathaiwas a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholasticaand the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
NationalityKenyan
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth1 April 1940
CityNyeri, Kenya
CountryKenya
Wangari Maathai quotes about
teamwork running risk
I’m very conscious of the fact that you can’t do it alone. It’s teamwork. When you do it alone you run the risk that when you are no longer there nobody else will do it.
opportunity moments difficult
There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments.
water environmental degradation
In Kenya women are the first victims of environmental degradation, because they are the ones who walk for hours looking for water, who fetch firewood, who provide food for their families.
ambition home limits
When I went back home, I was constantly being reminded, I'm an African woman, and so there are certain things I shouldn't do, certain ambitions that I should not entertain. That was a problem for me because I had never thought of myself as an African woman, never thought of myself as a woman to begin with. For me the limit was my capacity, my capability.
happiness inspiring success
African women in general need to know that it's OK for them to be the way they are - to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence.
biblical expression free-your-mind
You have to know yourself, and that once you know yourself, then you cannot be bound by - because sometimes we are bound by other people's thoughts, because we are not sure about ourselves. But once you know yourself... I guess it is really an expression of the biblical statements that the truth will make you free! When you know, then you are free, your mind is free.
skills role-models roles
Those of us who have been privileged to receive education, skills, and experiences and even power must be role models for the next generation of leadership.
future rights vision
In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.
environment protect governance
I am working to make sure we don't only protect the environment, we also improve governance.
development doe needs
We need to promote development that does not destroy our environment.
ideas differences important
It is important to nurture any new ideas and initiatives which can make a difference for Africa.
earth
We can love ourselves by loving the earth.
fighting rights people
Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then you protect.
teamwork men together
We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind.