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Waris Dirie and the Desert Flower Foundation support the Metropolitan Police’s educational movie about FGM in the UK
Female Genital Mutilation continues to be a problem throughout the United Kingdom. Especially during the summer holidays, many girls are either being taken to their parents’ home countries for the procedure or being mutilated in the UK. According to research conducted in the UK, up to 6000 girls in London are at risk of undergoing [...]
A Logo for Human Rights Initiative: Update and a big Thank You!
“My dear friends,
a couple of weeks ago, I travelled to Berlin to present the initiative „a logo for human rights” together with the foreign minister of Germany, Guido Westerwelle, and other members of the jury of which I am also part. Together, we are striving to establish a logo that is internationally recognized as the [...]
Activists criticise Indonesian government for permitting FGM when practiced by health professionals
In 2006, Indonesia, which has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation in the world, made the practice of removing the clitoris of newborn babies illegal. In Indonesia, the mutilation is usually performed shorly after the birth of female babies by midwives or other health workers. As a result, the rate of FGM [...]
Kurdish Parliament in Iraq adopts law against FGM
The regional parliament in the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq adopted a law against female genital mutilation yesterday, the NGO WADI reports. More than 60 percent of women and girls in the region are victims of FGM. The mutilation is usually performed on girls between the age of two and eight under bad hygienic conditions.
WADI [...]
FGM in Kenya: Criticism and Hope
Female Genital Mutilation has been illegal in Kenya since the ratification of the Children’s Act in 2001. Anyone violating this act by subjecting a girl child to FGM can be sent to prison. Yet, there are ethnic groups in Kenya in which the prevalence of FGM remains as high as 96 percent, most notably the [...]
Interview with Waris Dirie on Reuters TrustLaw
Tosin Sulaiman interviewed Waris Dirie on the question why the practice of FGM endures, the work of the Desert Flower Foundation and the importance of investing in women’s education.
When did you first realise that circumcision was not something that happened to all women?
When I lived in England. Before that, I lived in a society where [...]
13 member states of the Council of Europe sign convention to strengthen women’s rights
The 47 member states of the Council of Europe met in Istanbul last week to debate measures to strengthen women’s rights.
The result is a convention on the protection of women’s rights, which has already been signed by 13 member states. The document obliges the signing states to put into place measures to protect women against [...]
Press review: Waris Dirie supports initiative to create a logo for human rights
“Germany and several other countries launched a campaign Tuesday to create a human rights logo that would serve as a universal symbol like the peace sign or a heart signifying love.” – FORBES
“Somali-born model and human rights activist Waris Dirie, another jury member, says she will be “looking for a beautiful symbol that you will [...]
Waris Dirie: “Please support the human rights logo initiative”
My dear friends,
yesterday, I travelled to Berlin to present an international initiative to establish symbol for human rights. It is time to create a symbol for human rights that is understood all around the world.
A small share of the people on this planet enjoy the benefits of high tech, of the world wide web and [...]
Youth critics choose Desert Flower as best movie
Frankfurt / Germany: 75 youngsters between 13 and 16 years of age have extensively dealt with different types of media over the last six month to choose theif favourites in five categories: books, audio books, comics, movies and computer games. On April 14th, the young jury presented their selection in Frankfurt as part of the [...]
