Reading a book for the second time always gives me insights into important details that I would have missed the first time. As I was re-reading Wangari Maathai’s “UNBOWED-One Woman’s Story”, I was reminded of how she ended up with her surname-“Waathai” following her divorce.
She says: “…To add insult to injury, after our divorce, Mwangi did not want me to continue using his surname and let me know it through a letter from his lawyer…As a way to deal with my terrible feelings of rejection, I got the idea of adding another “a” to “Mathai” and to write it as it is pronounced in Kikuyu. And so I became “Maathai.” The extra syllable also signified that although a part of me would always be connected to Mwangi and his surname, I had a new identity. Henceforth I would define who I was: Wangari Muta Maathai.”
I have always admired her. This made me admire her even more. What a clever twist!
May we henceforth define who we are.