Recently, we’ve been thinking more and more about how our society and world values women. Our value is a topic that Waris Dirie covers so well in her autobiographical memoir, Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad. Though Waris is from Somalia and has become one of the most beautiful supermodels to walk the walk, her book tells the story of a woman who began her life as a broken little girl who, like many other women around her, faced a horrific life of oppression, illiteracy, violence and poverty.
This memoir begins with a glimpse into the pastoralist childhood of Waris. Her family is nomadic and her journey sets the tone of one of the themes of this book – walking (fighting through) – both physical and mental. As a young girl she was “cut” through the practice of female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM). Tied down to have her clitoris cut off while fully conscious, she is left under a tree for shelter to heal after her horrific rite of passage. Waris describes her experience and the practice without apology and is very direct in describing how female genital mutilation so often leaves its victims that are lucky to survive with life long constant pain and discomfort and death for the girls who don’t. Before her own mutilation, she watched her sister through a fog of naivete and concern go through her own cutting that left her with infected genitals but somehow still meant that “she was now a woman.”
Waris left home at 12 years old to escape being married off to a 60 year old man for five camels and instead chose to trek through the desert with no food or water in hopes of finding a better life for herself. After walking across the Somali desert to Mogadishu she soon found herself living in London and working as a servant to her uncle, the Somalian ambassador. The book goes on the tell the story of her life as a house servant, an abused spouse, a fast food worker and eventually a supermodel, mother and UN ambassador. Some of the events in her life are purely coincidental in many amazing ways but the premise of this book is what’s most important. Not that she become a supermodel, but that she chose to speak out against the treatment of women in her country and consequently all over the world.
Another major theme of this memoir is violence against women. As a child, Waris was also raped and as a woman she faced a constant barrage of sexual and physical assault as well. Her life is emotionally complicated, just like many of ours, and she must also fight (continue walking) through an oppressive society full of minimum wage jobs, people who are constantly trying to take advantage of her, political instability and warfare. But she never quits. She never gives up.
The story delivery is simple and to the point. Waris writes in a tone that can be interpreted as a bit selfish (perhaps if only from a Western perspective) in the later half of her book, but like any memoir, these are her words, thoughts and actions which make her experiences no less valid. This book and her experiences will stick with you long after you’ve put it down. Her story is gravely important, and like the the missing Nigerian school girls, and the threat of them being sold off for $12 each, we must not only think about the lack of value we put on the lives of women in this world, we must also act.
Girls and women are under attack every day simply for being born. Over 150 million women and girls worldwide have experienced female genital mutilation with over 8,000 undergoing the procedure every single day (some as young as three years old). During FGM, the clitoris and the labia are cut off without anaesthetic with sharp and even dull knives razors that often or not properly disinfected. Women are also being sold into sex slavery (human trafficking) prominently in Asia and in America. To help your fellow sisters there are a few things you can do:
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST FGM (FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION)
Become active in your outcry. Write to your secretary of state, senator and congressman and demand that they start speaking up on and demanding investigations into women’s rights violations both nationally and internationally.
Reach out to your local politicians to discuss how to help the victims of human trafficking in your area. You can also organize a fundraiser or drive and donate the proceeds to an anti-trafficking organization.
Join a local, regional or worldwide human trafficking organization like Operation Blessing or start with any of the organizations on Wikipedia’s list of organizations that are commitment to ending human trafficking and donate your time as a volunteer. You can find many more resources on how to actively fight human tracking by checking out the U.S. Department of State’s, 15 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking and the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking HUB.
Support Waris Dirie’s Desert Flower Foundation by donating. The foundation operates centers which offer reconstructive surgery, gynecological and psychological care for FGM victims.
To find out more about Waris, be sure to check out her foundation, Desert Flower. Desert Flower was also turned into a film starring Liya Kebede. You can rent it on Netflix.
