Somalian supermodel, Waris Dirie caught the world’s attention in 1997 when she opened up about her horrific female genital mutilation (FGM) ordeal.
Ever since she has campaigned vigorously against the practice and now her efforts have been recognised in the form of a Woman of the Year Campaigning award.
Ever since she has campaigned vigorously against the practice and now her efforts have been recognised in the form of a Woman of the Year Campaigning award.
Waris was just five years old when she was subjected to FGM in her home country, Somalia.
She was then forced into marrying a 60-year-old man when she was just 13, a threat which left her no choice but to flee to Mogadish, where she had family.
She later moved to London to live with relatives and worked in a local McDonald's before getting her big break when she was scouted by a fashion photographer in the 1990s.
Her career as a supermodel went from strength to strength and she starred in Chanel campaigns and even made a cameo appearance in James Bond movie, The Living Daylights.
But her life was fickle. ‘I thought, “This is b*****t, fake. I couldn’t sleep one more night knowing the truth about what was happening to girls,’ she told The Guardian. And that’s when she decided to speak up.
In a candid interview with Marie Claire at the height of her fame in 1997, Waris revealed her dark past whereby she was subjected to FGM and left to recover in a makeshift shelter under a tree for several days.
She has since set about saving other young girls from enduring what she suffered.
She has since been appointed a UN special ambassador and set up her own charity, Desert Flower Foundation, to help protect girls against the practice, which involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
The practice – which many believe leaves a girl ‘clean’ in preparation for her marriage - usually happens before girls reach the age of fifteen but can be performed on babies at birth too. It causes intense pain, risk of infection and can even lead to fatal childbirth later in life.
Despite being illegal in the UK, FGM is on the rise with an estimated 66,000 women dealing with the after-effects and more than 20,000 young girls thought to be at risk.
Worldwide, more than three million women have been subjected to FGM, many of whom come from East African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
Waris, now 48, lives in Poland with her four children. The five times bestselling author who writes on the topic of FGM, said she was 'honoured' to receive her Women of the Year Campaigning Award this week.
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, president of Women of the Year, said: 'Waris is a very worthy recipient of this Women of the Year award. Her astonishing bravery and commitment to this cause has brought this horrific crime against girls and women to the world’s attention.
"She provides hope and inspiration to victims that one day this abhorrent practice will be eradicated."
"I can't turn back, not now I'm almost there. You just have to keep going until one day it will come to an end" added Waris.
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| Fay Mohammed , 9 Rudimentary tools are often used to perform the operations |
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