Wonder Woman of the Week: Wangari Maathai

This week's Wonder Woman is an environmentalist and women's rights activist from Kenya that became the first woman from the continent of Africa to earn a Nobel Prize. Wangari Maathai educates communities in her country and abroad in wildlife conservation and environmental revitalization efforts along with working to strengthen the role of women in those communities gain increasing roles in protecting their environments.

In the 1980's, Wangari Maathai began working with international NGO's to regrow Kenya's dying forests. Her efforts to rebuild the once lush forests of her country spread into a pan-African movement to help regrow the once lush vegetation on the continent and educate future generations in how to maintain the diverse environments of the continent. The Green Belt Movement led to decreased destruction from war, decreased instances of famine, and decreased risk of droughts in Kenya and neighboring East African nations.

During the 1990's, Wangari Maathai helped work to push Kenya towards a democratic government- which the nation still struggles to maintain. Maathai helped illuminate issues with voter fraud and helped increase transparency in Kenya's early democracy. Kenya's then-dictator saw Maathai's actions as treason against his rule and forced the young activist to flee the country. While in exile, Maathai traveled the world and learned about international environmental movements and women's rights movements abroad.

With increased knowledge and wisdom, Wangari Maathai returned to Kenya and earned a seat in the country's parliament in 2002. Maathai used her new position as a seat from which to increase her environmental efforts, campaign for increased transparency in government, and empower women in Kenya. Two years later, Maathai became the first woman from Africa to earn a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in environmental, political, and social reforms.