Waris Dirie

Disappointingly light for a subject as serious as Female Genital Mutilation. I was glad to learn that modern Western surgery can ameliorate the results of this barbaric, inhumane practice and make it easy to pee freely. It might have been nice if Waris had mentioned that rehabbing her vagina was helpful when she gave birth, but she was far more interested in revisiting the excitement of a modeling career than discussing her surgery. Interesting, but not enough to hold onto this book.

This is the story of a Somali nomad girl who becomes a famous international model. After learning at age 12 that her father wants to marry her to a 60-year-old man in exchange for five camels, Waris (meaning 'desert flower') runs away from home. She makes it to London, working as a servant-girl for her uncle, the ambassador. Later she is discovered, and goes on to work as a top model and a UN spokeswoman on women's rights in Africa.

This autobiography delves into Waris's childhood as part of show more a nomadic tribe living off what they could find in the desert. It also describes her horrific circumcision at the age of five and the ongoing legacy of that ordeal. It is an inspiring story, made all the more sad by the fact that the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is still be carried out on little girls, without anesthetic, leaving them with a lifetime of pain and discomfort. Shocking!

'I had to learn new survival skills for this new world, which were different from the ones I was raised with in the desert. Here I needed to learn English, and how to communicate with all sorts of people. Knowing about camels and goats wasn't going to keep me alive in London' (p. 123).

'The health problems I've coped with since my circumcision also plague millions of girls and women throughout the world. Because of a ritual of ignorance, most of the women on the continent of Africa live their lives in pain. Who is going to help the women in the desert - like my mother - with no money and now power? Somebody must speak out for the little girl with no voice' (p. 225). show less

I will never understand why FGM is still practised in the world today, especially when it is only done to appease men. Babies of a few weeks or months are having this done now. This book is just heartbreaking and I applaud Waris for trying to stamp this out.

Back Cover Blurb:
Born a Somalian nomad she was circumcised at five, survived genital mutilation and a face-off with a tiger, fled an arranged marriage at 12, then became a Pirelli girl in her teens. Waris is now a UN special Ambassador show more and she is still fighting, still using her beauty and courage, to take what she has learned to try and put things right and end this barbaric act. show less

Desert Flower is as an excellent introduction to the nomadic culture of the Somali desert. Somalia, as described by Dirie, is a beautiful and dangerous place. The people who inhabit the desert must use all their strength to create a life using only sand and the little water that can be found. It is this strength that enabled Dirie to survive female genital mutilation, her flight across the desert to avoid an arranged marriage, living as a servant in England, and finally achieving success as show more a model.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, finding it to be easy to read and well-written. Dirie manages to describe the more intimate events in her life with just enough detail to get her point across. She is factual, but not over the top. I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Desert Dawn. show less