women to discuss and bring awareness to more communities and educate more women throughout the world. Moreover, it has helped to educate the leaders and organizers of the GBM so the GBM can effectively help and access communities that especially need help. The GBM also continues to foster black feminism through organizing seminars, speaking engagements, and various community based meetings/discussions. The organized seminars facilitated by the GBM, allowed women from various rural Kenyan communities to discuss their experiences of environmental degradation, political views, discriminatory experiences, etc. From the variety of discussions and seminars that take place, women are able to create solutions from subjugated knowledge to resist marginalization and cultural knowledge about their communities. The strategies used by the GBM and initiated by Maathai have contributed to benefiting women in Kenya tremendously and have allowed women to stay involved with the politics occurring in their rural communities. However, even after the variety of support and momentum the GBM has gained throughout the years, the politics the GBM, and all women in Kenya face, are extremely controversial and patriarchal. For example, women are prevented from obtaining equal capital by the social and political restrictions in land ownership for women and being prevented from joining decision-making meetings. Luckily, the Green Belt Movement overall is an organization that seeks to mitigate oppressive practices by ending land grabbing, deforestation, and corruption. The GBM also focuses on educating women about politics and encourages them to take on leadership roles within the GBM (especially in the 21st century). The GBM even provides legal services and advice to women who are in need of help of any kind. Through the amount of activism and education the organization has spread, it has contributed to a shift in patriarchal norms and politics. Specifically, nowadays, the network consists of over 4,000 community groups in Kenya that volunteer to protect their natural environment and practice day to day liberation for women. The number of people who have joined the GBM has made the roles of women and males' views toward women change in Kenya. The more the GBM influences and educates Kenya and its people in general, the more changes in Kenya's laws, women's roles, and overall environmental laws/regulations will occur. Activities Key Focus Areas The Green Belt Movement works in five principal areas known as "core programs" Civic & Environmental Education Environmental Conservation/Tree Planting Green Belt Safaris (GBS) Pan African