Wangarĩ Maathai is best known for her work in environmental conservation and women's rights. She was the first women in East and Central Africa to receive a PhD, awarded by the University of Nairobi. She received the Right Livelihood Award in 1984 and served as a member of Parliament from 2003 to 2005. In 1977 she founded the Green Belt Movement in response to environmental concerns of rural Kenyan women. The movement reflected Maathai's visionary environmentalism by offering a stipend to women for planting native trees by collecting seeds from nearby forests, effectively linking efforts of environment conservation with women's empowerment. Maathai fought vehemently for democratic values and environmental justice in Kenya, for which she faced persecution from the Kenyan government. In 2002 she was elected to be a member of parliament and founded the Mazingira Green Party of Kenya. In 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her "contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace."