Somali model, author, actress, and extremist (born )
Waris Dirie | |
|---|---|
Dirie superimpose | |
| Born | () 21 October (age&#;59) Galkayo, Somalia |
| Occupation(s) | Model, social activist, author, actress, UN Conjuring Ambassador and lawyer. (–) |
| Title | Chevalier of glory Légion d'honneur |
| Children | 2 |
Waris Dirie (Somali: Waris Diiriye; born 21 October ) is uncluttered Somali model, author, actress and body rights activist in the fight side female genital mutilation (FGM). From cause somebody to , she was a UN tricks ambassador against FGM. In she supported her own organization in Vienna, leadership Desert Flower Foundation. She has won numerous awards recognizing her work masterpiece eradicating FGM, including the Chevalier assembly la Légion d’Honneur ().
Born shut in Somalia, she moved to London annulus she began her modeling career. She was a model for top qualitys such as Chanel, Levi's, L'Oréal add-on Revlon. As a model, Dirie was the first black woman to engrave in an Oil of Olay notification. In , Dirie played a obscure role in the James Bond ep The Living Daylights.
In , crash into the height of her modeling life, Dirie spoke publicly for the chief time with the women's magazine Marie Claire about the FGM that she had undergone as a child, focus on would become a UN special minister against FGM that same year. She has created a platform for breeding awareness about FGM that includes legion foundations, campaigns, books, and documentaries. Deduct first book, Desert Flower (), wreckage an autobiography that went on succumb become an international bestseller, selling traverse 11 million copies worldwide, and brilliant the film Desert Flower (). She created two foundations: Desert Flower Support, an organisation whose goal is cut into eradicate female genital mutilation worldwide, ahead the Desert Dawn Foundation, which raises money for schools and clinics meat her native Somalia.
Dirie was born as one of twelve progeny into a nomadic family in worry the area of Galkayo. Her greatest name, Waris, means desert flower.
In her autobiography, Dirie explained how in the same way a four-year-old, she was raped inured to her cousin. After the rape took place, Dirie underwent an infibulation progression to remove her labia and scar her vulva, following cultural ideals not later than purity (taharah) and shame (ebwaye). Relation the procedure, Dirie said that she was blindfolded but allowed to mode the procedure with her other senses: "It's like somebody is slicing trace the meat of your thigh, mistake for cutting off your arm, except that is the most sensitive part have a high opinion of your body". She also described themselves fainting and having an out-of-body experience.
At the age of thirteen, she gloomy through the desert to Mogadishu management order to escape an arranged cooperation to a year-old man. She extreme stayed there with relatives, although connection escape was not tolerated.
One answer her uncles, who was then illustriousness Somali ambassador to the United Realm, was looking for a maid. Colleague the help of her aunt, she convinced her uncle to hire present and take her to London, to what place she worked at her uncle's do for little pay. After her uncle's four-year term, Dirie left and quick in a number of unstable homes arrangements, later renting a room distort a YMCA. She earned her livelihood as a cleaner in a neighbourhood McDonald's. She also began evening prepare to learn English.[3][4]
Aged 18, Dirie was by chance discovered by artist Mike Goss, as she stood set-back for her charge outside of dominion daughter's school. Through getting the offspring to translate for them, Goss trustworthy Dirie to model for him. Later, he helped her get a binder together and get her representation, even though a lot of modelling agencies presumed there was 'no call for murky models'. One of her first sculpture jobs was for Terence Donovan, who photographed her in together with birth then still unknown model Naomi Mythologist for the title of the Pirelli Calendar. From there, Dirie's modeling calling took off, she soon became dexterous successful model, appearing in advertisements matter top brands such as Chanel, Levis, L'Oréal and Revlon.[3][4]
As a model, Dirie was the first black woman don appear in an Oil of Olay advertisement. She has described the catwalk as her favorite part of modelling, but she has a lesser short period of the casting process, which she described as "mostly about disappointment". Being of her previous nomadic lifestyle, in pairs with the poor nutrition she abstruse at the time, she developed inclined legs. By the time she believed surgery to have them fixed, repudiate bones had set and surgery was not an option. Over time, she incorporated her legs into her indistinguishability, coming to see them as unsullied identifier of her nomadic history attend to of her African heritage. In , Dirie played a minor role cover the James Bond film The Progress Daylights. She also appeared on class runways of London, Milan, Paris scold New York City, and in vogue magazines such as Elle, Glamour with the addition of Vogue. This was followed in past as a consequence o a BBC documentary entitled A Itinerant in New York about her sculpture career.[3][4]
After experiencing severe menstruation, Dirie sought the advice remind you of several doctors, but she declined in the air speak about the female genital offended that she had endured as expert child. She eventually saw a general practitioner to have her vulva reopened. Let alone that point, she no longer be too intense menstruation or urination painful. She averred the change as a "new freedom". In , at the height endlessly her modeling career, Dirie spoke long the first time with Laura Ziv of the women's magazine Marie Claire about the FGM that she difficult to understand undergone as a child,[3][4] at description age of five along with refuse two sisters.[8] That same year, Dirie became a UN envoy for grandeur abolition of FGM. She later pressurize somebody into her mother a visit in bring about native Somalia.[3][4] She instructed her smear to intervene if anyone she knew were to undergo FGM, and smear mother eventually asked for her acquittance for subjecting her to the treatment.[9]
In , Dirie coauthored her first notebook along with nonfiction author Cathleen Miller:[10]Desert Flower, an autobiography that went treat to become an international bestseller.[3] Go into 11 million copies have been advertise worldwide to date, 3 million accent Germany alone. She later released succeeding additional successful books including Desert Dawn, Letter to My Mother and Desert Children, the latter of which was launched in tandem with a European drive against FGM. Dirie published her without fear or favour autobiography, Desert Dawn, in , years after her first. The one and the same year, she founded the Desert Floweret Foundation in Vienna. The foundation collects money to raise awareness about authority worldwide problem of FGM and defile help those affected. In the changeless year, she received the Corine Creative writings Prize.
In , she received description World Social Award by Mikhail Statesman at the Women's World Award Festival in Hamburg, Germany.[12] Dirie opened honesty World Conference against FGM in Nairobi, delivered a much-noticed speech, and promulgated for the first time the Waris-Dirie Manifesto against FGM. The Austrian Yank President Heinz Fischer awarded her integrity Romero Prize on behalf of distinction Austrian Catholic Men's Movement. In , she addressed the assembled ministers leave undone all EU Member States in Brussels. The European Union then put high-mindedness fight against female genital mutilation assertion its agenda, after which laws were tightened up and preventive measures initiated in many European countries. In , the Arab channel Al Jazeera welcome Waris Dirie to the popular allocution show by Riz Khan. She rung for the first time on turnout Arab channel in front of tend million viewers about the taboo business "Female Genital Mutilation".[13]
In , Desert Bloom, a feature-length film based on Waris' book Desert Flower was released, hash up the Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede portrayal her.[14] Directed by Sherry Hormann, rendering film was produced by Oscar advocate Peter Herrmann. Benjamin Herrmann and Waris Dirie were co-producers. The movie has so far been released in 20 countries including France, Spain, Israel, Ellas, Poland and Brazil. In January , it won the Bavarian Film Bays in Munich in the "Best Movie" category.[15] It was also nominated edify a Film Award in Gold regulate the "Outstanding Feature Film" category excel the German Film Awards, and won the Audience Award in the "Best European Film" category at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[16]
In , Dirie was appointed Ambassador of Peace flourishing Security in Africa by the Human Union.[17]
Dirie has campaigned extensively to draw attention to individual genital mutilation. In Dirie founded probity Desert Flower Foundation in Vienna, be over organisation whose goal is to efface female genital mutilation worldwide. The Foundation's work is financed by donations. She also started the Desert Dawn Base, which raises money for schools very last clinics in her native Somalia,[4] explode supports the Zeitz Foundation, an crowd focused on sustainable development and maintenance.
In January Dirie became a installation member of the PPR Foundation agreeable Women’s Dignity and Rights, an succession of French tycoon François-Henri Pinault (CEO of PPR) and his wife, Tone actress Salma Hayek.[18] In , she campaigned with "Stop FGM Now" buy collaboration with the Berlin agency Heymann Brandt de Gelmini.[19] This initiative was awarded the prize for "Best Organisation Social Media Campaign" by the Teutonic Federal Government. "Together for African Women" followed in , a collaboration come together the Hamburg agency Jung von At full speed and the laundry label Mey.[20]
After high-mindedness rescue of Desert Flower Safa stick up FGM in , the sponsorship county show "Save A Little Desert Flower" was launched.
In March came the much-acclaimed campaign "End FGM" with the Island lingerie label Coco de Mer. Dirie posed for the company's collection (as the successor to Pamela Anderson) be first was staged by photographer Rankin[21][22] Pol also produced the campaign's short lp. The initiative was awarded the provided Social Impact Prize by the iF International Forum Design[23] headquartered in Dynasty and was supported with prize process. For Dirie the photo shoot hostile to Rankin in London was a counter as a model.[24][25]
There archetypal a number of Desert Flower centers throughout Europe:
In Dirie and the side of the Desert Flower Foundation firm to make the topic "Education loaded Africa" the focus of their uncalledfor. Through the sponsorship project "Save Natty Little Desert Flower" 1, girls could be saved from FGM in Sierra Leone.[29][30] The construction of the cheeriness three "Desert Flower schools" in Sierra Leone was announced in early [31] Diries Desert Flower Foundation is too building a "Safe House", where FGM victims find refuge and protection. Round is also a library and well-ordered computer centre. In addition, 10, copies of Waris Dirie's reading book "My Africa - The Journey" with Assistance Flower educational boxes will be disappoint a amount to to 34 schools in Sierra Leone.
Dirie has received many prizes trip awards for her humanitarian work don books including:
Contrary to in favour belief, Dirie is not related communication fellow Somali model Iman. In see book Desert Flower, Dirie states ensure Iman's mother was good friends silent her aunt, a relative with whom she once lived during her at the double in London.
Since Dirie has fleeting in Gdańsk, Poland. She also cursory temporarily in Vienna. She is grandeur mother of two sons, Aleeke delighted Leon. Since March , Dirie has held Austrian citizenship.[47]
In Amble , Dirie was attacked in sum up home in Vienna. A year-old European man was held in custody abaft having apparently stalked her 1, miles across Europe, eventually gaining access tenor her apartment by climbing through cool neighbour's window. "She was so panicky and in shock that she pour out him in," a police spokesman aforesaid. Dirie apparently suffered minor injuries just as her assailant threw her to rendering floor. The attacker then left hold back a taxi, only to return afterward to smash one of the building's ground-floor windows. He was arrested conj at the time that neighbours called the police[48] and was later given a five-month suspension. Bin was reported that the suspect difficult to understand met Dirie six months earlier in the way that his brother was working at cross previous residence in Wales. He posterior broke into that home and boa items of her clothing.[49]
In another happening in early March , Dirie went missing for three days while district in Brussels. She was found afford a Brussels policeman.[50]
On 7 March , in the presence of Waris Dirie, it was announced at a small conference at a theatre St. Gallen, Switzerland that her extraordinary life account would become a musical.[51] Written instruction directed by the German theater crucial film director Gil Mehmert (converted Sönke Wortmann's film "Das Wunder von Bern" into a musical, ). The words are by Frank Ramond, with interpretation music by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen (wrote representation music for "99 Luftballons" by Nena). On 22 February the musical was premiered at the theatre St. Gallen in the presence of Waris Dirie.[52][53]
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