Wangari Maathai Quotes

A collection of quotes by Wangari Maathai.

Wangari Maathai was an extraordinary Kenyan environmental activist and political leader. Born in 1940, she became the first woman in East Africa to obtain a Ph.D. and later founded the Green Belt Movement, an organization aimed at promoting environmental conservation and women's empowerment through tree planting. Maathai's efforts received international recognition, and in 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace. Her life's work left an indelible mark on both the environment and society, inspiring generations to work towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

You cannot blame the mismanagement of the economy or the fac

You cannot blame the mismanagement of the economy or the fact that we have not invested adequately in education in order to give our people the knowledge, the skills and the technology that they need in order to be able to use the resources that Africa has to gain wealth.

Wangari Maathai

When resources are degraded, we start competing for them, wh

When resources are degraded, we start competing for them, whether it is at the local level in Kenya, where we had tribal clashes over land and water, or at the global level, where we are fighting over water, oil, and minerals. So one way to promote peace is to promote sustainable management and equitable distribution of resources.

Wangari Maathai

It was easy to persecute me without people feeling ashamed.

It was easy to persecute me without people feeling ashamed. It was easy to vilify me and project me as a woman who was not following the tradition of a 'good African woman' and as a highly educated elitist who was trying to show innocent African women ways of doing things that were not acceptable to African men.

Wangari Maathai

African women in general need to know that it's OK for them

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.

Wangari Maathai

In Kenya women are the first victims of environmental degrad

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.

Wangari Maathai

In a few decades, the relationship between the environment,

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.

Wangari Maathai

It's a matter of life and death for this country. The Kenyan

It's a matter of life and death for this country. The Kenyan forests are facing extinction and it is a man-made problem.

Wangari Maathai

I think what the Nobel committee is doing is going beyond wa

I think what the Nobel committee is doing is going beyond war and looking at what humanity can do to prevent war. Sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace.

Wangari Maathai

I don't really know why I care so much. I just have somethin

I don't really know why I care so much. I just have something inside me that tells me that there is a problem, and I have got to do something about it. I think that is what I would call the God in me.

Wangari Maathai

It would be good for us Africans to accept ourselves as we a

It would be good for us Africans to accept ourselves as we are and recapture some of the positive aspects of our culture.

Wangari Maathai