"One thing: we cannot give up!" This is what Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan winner of the 2004 Nobel peace prize, says about her fight for the environment and for human rights. Decisiveness and stamina also characterise Etweda Cooper, the driving force behind the Liberian peace movement. It played an important role in the resignation of dictator Charles Taylor and the end of the civil war.
They are just two examples of strong African women whose voices are being heard both on the national and the international stage. Role models for a younger generation of African women, both visited the Netherlands last month.
Inspiration from the USA
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"I think it really did shape my understanding that if you want something you have to work for it and you have to force change to happen. Things don't change just on their own, don't happen on their own. Quite often there is somebody, some people, who force change. Those images I saw in the US helped me when I went back to my country and I tried to change things that I thought ought to be changed" . Etweda Cooper, who has been active in the Liberian peace movement since the 1990s looks to her youth for the roots of her activism.
"I came from a family where both my parents were quite outspoken. My parents would have political discussions at home. And even we would be discussing world issues. So for me it was like natural. And I remember even in 1990, I had a discussion with my father, at that time my father was in his 80's; he was saying to me "it is your generation that has something to do about this".
Not taken seriously
The attitude of men towards women in particular formed a major obstacle to both Ms Maathai and Ms Cooper, but even today, as a biology graduate who won a Nobel prize, Wangari Maathai is often not taken seriously because she is a woman.
"But I can tell you: it is still happening to me. It hasn't ended. I want to say that because I want people to understand that the struggle doesn't end. It is almost like you really never get there until your life is over. It is a constant struggle because you are constantly pushing the horizon."
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"We are naturally making peace the whole day. We are serving as judges and lawyers for one person or the other, we are negotiating with our spouses, and so on. And we talk a lot. As we talk we discuss the problems and we begin to solve them. And I think there isn't any wrong in talking!"
Both Wangari Maatahi and Etweda Cooper have shown its possible for an African woman to achieve a position of influence. They serve as important role models to ambitious young African women, but even for the new generation there are plenty of obstacles to be cleared.
* RNW translation (gsh)
Tags: African, environment, Etweda Cooper, Green Belt Movement, human rights, Liberia, peace movement, role models, Wangari Maathai, women