Kenya's Green Belt Movement: A Collective Effort Towards Gender Equality and Environment. CANCELLED

Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, a social movement with a difference was founded by Wangari Maathai( Noble Prize Winner) in 1977 as a way to empower poor women. With over one-lakh members, this civil society organization believes in bringing the socio political change by consensus instead of traditional conflictual approach .The first decade of the movement focused on transforming the social arena through reforestation and education. The next five to six years of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement were openly challenging the political arena. Later, it expanded its wings in many African countries as the Pan African Green Belt Network and also as Green Belt Movement International.  It Integrates the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes ; tries to  reverse loss of environmental resources and  works for the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. Its branch ‘Women for Change ‘ helps young girls and women to face the challenges of growing up, making complex decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, and gaining knowledge and skills to protect themselves form HIV and AIDS (UN).  It provides different ways to   promote bee-keeping, economic empowerment, and healthy eating habits of indigenous food crops.  This paper tries to analyze the contributions of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement and also examines the issues raised and strategies adopted in relation to the goals sought.