Fashion model, UN ambassador and courageous spirit, Waris
Dirie was born into a family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia.
She told her story - enduring female circumcision at five years
old; running away through the desert; being discovered by Terence
Donovan and becoming a top fashion model - in her book, the
worldwide bestseller, DESERT FLOWER. In DESERT DAWN she wrote about
becoming a UN Special Ambassador against FGM female genital
mutilation and returning to her family in Somalia. DESERT CHILDREN
tells us how she and the journalist Corinna Milborn have
investigated the practice of FGM in Europe - they estimate that up
to 500,000 women and girls have undergone or are at risk of FGM. At
the moment, France is the only European country in which offenders
are convicted and no European country officially recognises the
threat of genital mutilation as a reason for asylum. Here are the
voices of women who have felt encouraged and emboldened by Waris
Dirie''s courage. They speak out for the first time and move us to
action.
關於作者:
Waris Dirie is an
internationally renowned model and was the face of Revlon skin-care
products. In 1997 she was appointed by the UN as special ambassador
against FGM. She lives in Vienna with her son.