Wangari Maathais Unbowed Essay - 1077 Words

Wangari Maathai’s Unbowed exhibited a story of a fight for human rights, the struggle and hardships of discrimination, and the pursuit of a human being believing in what is right. After reading Unbowed it really shed some light on previous historic events and political leaders she had in common with. I found that Maathai drew many comparisons to Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Two leaders that both fought for equality for their people Unbowed drew similarities to Marcos â€Å"The Fourth World War,† when Wangari explained Kenya’s rapid change in the early 1960’s and Alice Conklin’s â€Å"A Mission to Civilize.† These are just some of the main themes that I found coincided with the Wangari Maathai’s Unbowed. The reason I believe Maathai is similar to†¦show more content†¦(Mandela pg.294) Mandela was the first democratic President of South Africa. Both leaders took action to develop a democratic country and became well known politica l leaders of their respective countries. Like Mandela, Maathai was dealing with a corrupt government that both leaders felt needed change. Wangari Maathai brought about this change with her Green Belt Movement. She felt that action needed to be taken to prevent rainfall from washing out vital crops that affected the communities in Kenya and other African countries. This movement not only brought on the planting of trees and crops throughout the land but it helped her to understand the problems that were arising in Kenya. This is where she learned of the corruption of the Kenyan government and how it was affecting her people. This is when she truly found that their needed to be action taken to make a change for Kenya. One example of Maathai taking action against the Kenyan Government was in 1989 when Daniel Arap Moi was President of Kenya. He planned on building a skyscraper in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park, which brought great concern to Wangari. She took action by writing to politici ans, companies, along with the media to exploit the nonsense of constructing this building. This is where I initially drew my comparisons to her and Gandhi. She knew that something had to be done to protect the park, like Gandhi, when she was ignoredShow MoreRelatedColonialism and Oppression in the African Diaspora Essay938 Words   |  4 PagesColonialism and Oppression in the African Diaspora The Kenyan feminist and environmental activist, Wangari Maathai, explores the legacy of colonialism and oppression in her native country through her moving 2006 memoir, Unbowed. Maathai explains that over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Africa experienced a massive influx of white settlers. In an effort to solidify control over recently acquired colonies, many European powers had encouraged large numbers of their ethnicallyRead MoreColonialism and Oppression in the African Diaspora Essay2014 Words   |  9 PagesArguably, the effects which Europe’s global colonialism have had on women of the African diaspora can be most easily seen on the African continent. Kenyan feminist and environmental activist, Wangari Maathai, explores the legacy of colonialism and oppression in her native country through her moving 2006 memoir, Unbowed. Maathai explains that over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Africa experienced a massive in flux of white settlers. In an effort to solidify control over recently