National Council Of Women Of Kenya
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The National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) was founded in 1964 to provide coordination among the various women's groups in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. 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. The National Council of Women of Kenya affiliated with the
International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...
in 1966. In 1976, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathi joined the organization. In 1977, she proposed the idea of
planting trees Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture and from the lower-cost but slower and less re ...
to address deforestation in rural areas of Kenya. The tree-planting program was highly successful, and eventually Maathi created a separate organization, the
Green Belt Movement 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 deforest ...
, to expand her environmental efforts to other countries. In 2004, she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. In 1979, Maathi ran for president of NCWK, but lost by three votes. She ran again the following year. She was elected president, and served from 1980 to 1987.


See also

*
International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...
* Women in Kenya


References


Further reading

* Kathleen E. Sheldon (2005). ''Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa''. Scarecrow Press. . Women's organisations based in Kenya Organizations established in 1964 {{Kenya-stub