WARIS DIRIE

Waris Dirie is a Somali model, writer, actress, and human rights activist who fights female genital mutilation. She was born as one of twelve children into a nomadic family in 1965 in the area of Galkayo. Her first name is Waris, which means desert flower. At the age of 5, she suffered circumcision in the form of infibulation. Her uncle was the Somali ambassador to the United Kingdom and looked for a maid. She had no choice but to London.

She worked at the Somail embassy with no salary. After the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, her uncle left London which gave Dirie the chance to flee the embassy and be free. She worked as a cleaner in a local McDonald’s and learned English. From 1997 to 2003, she was the special ambassador of the United Nations against female genital mutilation. In 2002, she established her organization, the Desert Flower Foundation, in Vienna.