“It is important for women to inform themselves.”
“对女性来说，了解自身的权益很重要。”
More than three decades ago, Wangari Maathai came up with the idea of using 1)economic incentives to encourage rural women and farmers to plant trees on their land to protect the environment and promote sustainable development. In 2004 Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Green Belt Movement, a nonprofit 2)NGO she founded in her native Kenya. She spoke with Newsweek's R. M. Schneiderman about how empowering women can link up with ecological activism. Excerpts:
30多年前，旺加里·马塔伊提出通过引入经济奖励的方法，鼓励农村妇女和农民在他们的地里种树，以达到保护环境和促进可持续发展的目的。她在家乡肯尼亚创立了非盈利性民间组织“绿带运动”，并因这项创举于2004年获得诺贝尔和平奖。她与美国《新闻周刊》的R·M·施耐德曼谈到提高妇女权益和生态保护行动之间相辅相成的关系。以下为访谈节选：
Schneiderman: What first inspired the idea behind your movement?
Maathai: I grew up in the countryside, and so the issues that affect rural women were familiar to me. Most farmers wanted to plant 3)cash crops, and they removed every inch of 4)vegetation. We were facilitating 5)soil erosion, and the soil was carried away to the river and the women had no clean water. When you have trees on your land, you can stop the overflow. If you harvest that water and it stays in the 6)topsoil, you are more likely to maximize food production. When it runs off, it causes damage and you end up being hungry and not harvesting the crops.
施耐德曼：最初激发你发起这项运动的原因是什么？
马塔伊：我是在乡村长大的，所以对那些影响农村妇女的问题很熟悉。大部分的农民都想种经济作物，于是把土地上的每寸草木清理得干干净净。水土流失日益严重，泥土不断被冲刷到河流里去，结果妇女们没有了干净的水源可用。只要在地里种上树木的话，就能阻止这种水土流失。如果能把水截留住并保留在表土层中，那就有可能最大化地提高粮食产量。但当水都流失了，破坏便随之而来，最终田地颗粒无收，大家也就只能挨饿。
Schneiderman: How does this affect women?
Maathai: Decisions on how to manage the environment are being made by governments, which are dominated by men. But women get the 7)brunt of the impact of environment degradation. If they don't have water, they are the ones who have to get it. If they don't have firewood, they are the ones who have to get it. Men can escape into urban centers and look for jobs. For the women, therefore, it becomes important for them to empower themselves and inform themselves and take action to hold governments 8)accountable and demand better policies.
施耐德曼：这对女性会有什么影响呢？
马塔伊：针对环境的种种决策都由政府制定，而政府主要由男性主宰。但当环境恶化时，首当其冲的则是女性。如果缺水，她们就必须去找水；如果缺柴，她们就必须去找柴，这些活儿都是由她们来承担。而男性则可以逃避到大城市去寻求打工机会。所以，对女性来说，建立自强意识、了解自身的权益、对政府的职能进行监督，并要求得到更好的政策，这些都极为重要。
女人撑起半边天 Women Can Contribute
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