Wangari Maathai For Our Land Sparknotes

Wangari Maathai was one of the first African women who won the Noble Peace prize. She was from Kenya, Kenya was not considered to be an ordinary country at that time, but it was composed of many different tribes. When Kenya was given to Britain, and their colonization had a major impact on Africa, especially on people who lived in Kenya. Britain brought them a medicine, aware of education, not only for boys but also for girls too. The new way of life brought the positive and negative things for the people of Kenya. The positive thing is that their children was able to get an education and people have access to many other resources like medicines. The negative part is that people of Kenya had to demolish their old ways of living, and they were

Even though education was introduced by Britain, but it was mainly for the men not for the women, but this did not stop Wangari to get the education. In 1959, Wangari was among 800 African students, who chosen to study in the United States. Once she came back; she started a job, and she found out that she was getting less pay than her fellow male workers. That was another issue women had it at that time, even though today too. Women are still get less opportunities in the job market and even after women find a job, they do not get paid equally. Wangari decided to be teamed up with her professor and one more women worker to start an awareness and find out that why would they get less pay for same or better work. In Kenya, women talk about women rights and women equality, but unfortunately no one take a stand to change it. Once Wangari started the awareness about the women equality; she faced the worst time in her life. Her husband accused her for adultery and filed for divorce, which she never wanted it. Judge was bribed, according to Wangari’s lawyer and the judge ruled in favor of her husband. Also, she was charged for contempt of court and faced a jail