Unbowed: A Memoir

Last updated
Unbowed: A Memoir
Unbowed.jpg
Author Wangari Maathai
LanguageEnglish
Subject Autobiography
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
October 3, 2006
Pages352
ISBN 978-0-307-26348-3
OCLC 65341312
333.72092 B 22
LC Class SB63.M22 A3 2006

Unbowed: A Memoir is a 2006 autobiography written by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai. [1] The book was published by the Knopf Publishing Group.

Summary

Maathai discusses her life from childhood until she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She discusses her childhood, education in the United States and her return to Kenya, moving on to her life as an environmentalist and political activist, culminating with the victory of the opposition in the 2002, elections against the ruling KANU party and her election to parliament, followed shortly after by the Nobel Prize. Maathai stresses the connection between environmental conservation and good governance.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rigoberta Menchú</span> Kiche Guatemalan human rights activist (born 1959)

Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Williams</span> Northern Irish peace activist and Nobel laureate

Elizabeth Williams was a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was a co-recipient with Mairead Corrigan of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work as a cofounder of Community of Peace People, an organisation dedicated to promoting a peaceful resolution to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jody Williams</span> American political activist (born 1950)

Jody Williams is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights, and her efforts to promote new understandings of security in today's world. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work toward the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirin Ebadi</span> Persian-Londoner lawyer, human rights activist (born 1947)

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian Nobel laureate, lawyer, writer, teacher and a former judge and founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her pioneering efforts for democracy and women's, children's, and refugee rights. She was the first Muslim woman and the first Iranian to receive the award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ole Danbolt Mjøs</span> Norwegian physician and politician

Ole Danbolt Mjøs was a Norwegian physician and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. A professor and former rector at the University of Tromsø, he was known worldwide as the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2003 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wangari Maathai</span> Kenyan environmental and political activist (1940–2011)

Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Mazingira Green Party of Kenya is a Kenyan green party. It was formerly known as Liberal Party of Kenya (LPK). At the 1997 Kenyan General Elections LPK fielded a presidential candidate, Wangari Maathai, who later became a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Maathai was only a minor candidate. She did not win a parliamentary seat. In 2002, the next general elections were held and the Maathai-led party was part of the victorious NARC coalition. Maathai herself won the Tetu Constituency parliamentary seat.

The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an indigenous grassroots organization in Kenya that empowers women through the planting of trees. It is one of the most effective and well-known grassroots organisations addressing the problem of global deforestation. Professor Wangari Maathai established the organization in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK). GBM's successes in forest conservation, education, and women's economic empowerment have gained the organisation worldwide acclaim. It is also noted for its advocacy of human rights, democratisation of access to public lands, and environmental justice issues such as the role of women's traditional ecological knowledge in addressing environmental degradation and desertification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uhuru Park</span>

Uhuru Park is a 12.9 hectare recreational park adjacent to the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya. It was opened to the general public by the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on 23 May 1969. It contains an artificial lake, several national monuments, and an assembly ground which has become a popular skateboarding spot on weekends and also a location for local skateboarding competitions, catering to Nairobi's growing skate scene.

Forum for the Restoration of Democracy was a political party and a movement against the one-party system in Kenya. It was founded in August 1991 by Oginga Odinga and others. However, it split before the 1992 General elections, the first multiparty elections held in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobel Peace Center</span>

The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, is a showcase for the Nobel Peace Prize and the ideals it represents. The center is also an arena where culture and politics merge to promote involvement, debate and reflection around topics such as war, peace and conflict resolution. The center is located in Oslo, Norway at the City Hall Square (Rådhusplassen).

Notogomphus maathaiae, commonly known as Maathai’s longleg, is a species of dragonfly in the clubtail family Gomphidae. It is thought to be endemic montane streams in Kenya. The species is considered endangered because the continued destruction of its montane forest habitat by humans creates a very high risk of extinction in the near future.

Lang'ata Constituency is an electoral constituency in Nairobi City County. It is one of the seventeen constituencies in the county. It consists of southern and southwestern areas of Nairobi. Langata constituency had common boundaries with a now defunct Kibera Division of Nairobi. It is the largest constituency in Nairobi with an area of 196.80 km2 (76.0 sq mi). It was known as Nairobi South Constituency at the 1963 elections but since 1969 elections it has been known as Lang'ata Constituency.

Tetu Constituency is an electoral constituency in Kenya. It was established in 1988 and is one of the six constituencies in Nyeri County.

Nobelity is a feature documentary which looks at the world's most pressing problems through the eyes of Nobel laureates, including Desmond Tutu, Sir Joseph Rotblat, Ahmed Zewail and Wangari Maathai.

The Nobel Women's Initiative is an international advocacy organisation based in Ottawa, Canada. It was created in 2006 by six female winners of the Nobel Peace Prize to support women's groups around the world in campaigning for justice, peace and equality. The six founders are Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, and Betty Williams. The only other living female Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, was under house arrest at the time of the initiative's formation. She became an honorary member on her release in 2010. The initiative's first conference, in 2007, focused on women, conflict and security in the Middle East.

Loreto High School Limuru is an all girls' National School located in the highlands of Limuru, Kiambu County, Central Kenya. It is approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the capital city of Nairobi, Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Kenya</span> Overview of the status of women in Kenya

The history of the evolution of the traits of women in Kenya can be divided into Women within Swahili culture, Women in British Kenya, and Kenyan Women post-Independence. The condition and status of the female population in Kenya has faced many changes over the past century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanjira Mathai</span> Kenyan environmentalist (born 1971)

Wanjira Mathai is a Kenyan environmentalist and activist. She is Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute, based in Nairobi, Kenya. In this role, she takes on global issues including deforestation and energy access. She was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine in 2018 for her role serving as the senior advisor at the World Resources Institute, as well as for her campaign to plant more than 30 million trees through her work at the Green Belt Movement.

The National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) was founded in 1964 to provide coordination among the various women's groups in Kenya. These included groups as varied as the National Nurses Union, Nairobi Business Women, East African Women's League, the Home Economics Association of East Africa, the Mother's Union, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Kenya Girl Guides, and the Kenyan Association of University Women.

References

  1. Ramanathan, Shalini (31 October 2006). "A review of Wangari Maathai's autobiography Unbowed". Grist.