Waris Dirie, symbol of women's strength
From Somali nomad girl to celebrated supermodel to globally respected human rights activist
Waris Dirie fights tirelessly for women's rights. Photo: RSG Group
The early years
Waris Dirie was born in 1965 in the Galkayo region of the Somali desert on the border with Ethiopia as the daughter of a nomadic family. Her family belongs to the Darod clan. The name Waris translates as ‘desert flower’.
At the age of five, she undergoes the horrific procedure of genital mutilation. According to estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO), up to 8,000 girls fall victim to this unimaginable cruelty every day, which aims to suppress women's sexual desire.
At the age of 13, Waris flees from a forced marriage to an old man, who could have been her grandfather, through the desert to the Somali capital Mogadishu. Her uncle, who was an ambassador, takes her to London and lets her work unpaid as a maid. When her uncle is ordered back to Somalia, Waris flees the embassy and works as a cleaner at McDonald's.
Supermodel and Bond girl
At the age of 18, Waris is discovered as a model by English celebrity photographer Terence Donovan and shot for the Pirelli calendar together with Naomi Campbell, who was still unknown at the time. Waris becomes internationally famous overnight.
Waris Dirie for Chanel's Allure perfume.
Waris Dirie (at the back right) in 1987 as Bond Girl in The Living Daylights.
Waris moves from London to New York and becomes one of the first supermodels. She is the first African model to receive an exclusive contract from the cosmetics company Revlon and immediately graces the covers of all major magazines.
She is given a role as a James Bond girl alongside Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights.
The BBC shoots a programme entitled A Nomad in New York about Waris Dirie for the series The Day That Changed My Life.
When US star journalist Barbara Walters interviewed her for NBC and Laura Ziv for Marie Claire magazine, Waris Dirie decided to report on the cruel ritual of female genital mutilation and her own fate. She triggers a wave of sympathy and protest worldwide.
The human rights activist
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appoints Waris Dirie as UN Special Envoy in the fight against female genital mutilation.
Waris Dirie with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
President Nicolas Sarkozy honours Waris Dirie with France's highest decoration.
With Mikhail Gorbachev at the World Women's Award Gala in Hamburg.
Waris has travelled the world on behalf of the United Nations (UN), attending conferences, meeting presidents, Nobel Prize winners and film stars, and giving hundreds of interviews to raise awareness of her mission.
Waris has received many prizes and awards for her work and her books, including the World Women's Award from President Mikhail Gorbachev (2004), the Bishop Oscar Romero Prize from the Catholic Church (2005), the Woman of the Year Award from Glamour magazine (2000), the Africa Prize from the German Federal Government (1999) and the Corinne Award from the German Book Trade Association for the best non-fiction book (2002).
In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy named her a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur, the World Demographic Association nominated her as the first woman for the Prix de la Génération and the Martin Buber Foundation nominated her as the first woman for the Martin Buber Plaque.
The Desert Flower Foundation
In 2002, Waris Dirie founded her own organisation, the Waris Dirie Foundation. In 2010, the organisation is renamed the Desert Flower Foundation.
Waris Dirie keeps travelling to Africa for her mission.
With Desert Flower sponsored girls in Sierra Leone.
With girls rescued from genital mutilation.
The Desert Flower Foundation team is made up of women and men who are committed to equality and human rights and who share the ideals of Waris Dirie: to put an end to the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM)!
The headquarters of the Desert Flower Foundation is located in Vienna, Austria. There are other centers in Germany, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Great Britain, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Poland. Since the beginning of 2025, the Desert Flower Foundation has also been represented in the USA. The official languages of the organisation are English, German, Polish, French, Dutch and Spanish.
The Desert Flower Foundation and its campaigns, projects and activities are financed by private donations.
The Desert Flower Foundation focuses on:
- Prevention work: Through projects such as the Save A Little Desert Flower sponsorship programme, which is directly aimed at saving girls from FGM.
- Educational work: Through workshops, seminars, conferences, presentations, charity events, online campaigns, etc., awareness is created for the fight against FGM.
- Curative work: With the Desert Flower Centers, we offer women affected by FGM holistic medical care. To give them back as much of their quality of life and self-confidence as possible.
Waris Dirie and her books
Waris Dirie's biography Desert Flower is published in New York in 1997 and becomes an international bestseller. In Germany, the book ranks in the top 10 of the Spiegel bestseller list for 120 weeks. It is published in over 50 licensed editions and has sold over 12 million copies to date.
DESERT FLOWER
From a nomadic life in the Somali desert to the world's most expensive designer catwalks - a dream. And a nightmare, because Waris Dirie was the victim of a cruel ritual at the age of five: she was circumcised.
In Desert Flower, she breaks her years of silence and tells her story. Her book has touched millions of people around the world. Today, Waris Dirie and her Desert Flower Foundation are fighting against female genital mutilation, which more than 8,000 girls worldwide have to endure every day.
From a nomadic life in the Somali desert to the world's most expensive designer catwalks - a dream. And a nightmare, because Waris Dirie was the victim of a cruel ritual at the age of five: she was circumcised.
In Desert Flower, she breaks her years of silence and tells her story. Her book has touched millions of people around the world. Today, Waris Dirie and her Desert Flower Foundation are fighting against female genital mutilation, which more than 8,000 girls worldwide have to endure every day.
Waris Dirie: "I know that Desert Flower has an important message that is shared by all people: respect for human dignity."
DESERT DAWN
Waries Dirie returns to Somalia for the first time in 20 years and reunites with her family. After such a long time in the West, the arrival in her homeland and, above all, the reunion with her mother become a challenge for Waris to come to terms with her former and her new life. In this fascinating sequel to her autobiography Desert Flower, Waris Dirie provides a captivating and moving view of life in her homeland: of the wealth of magnificent traditions, but also of the archaic role models that still place cruel shackles on women in particular.
DESERT CHILDREN
Bestselling author and UN Special Envoy Waris Dirie, who experienced the agony of genital mutilation at the age of five, was the first woman to speak publicly about this terrible torture. Now she tells the story of her life from the day she broke her silence: she talks about her encounters with victims and perpetrators, the arduous research, setbacks and successes. Desert Dawn is a harrowing book in many respects, but it is also a book full of strength and hope for millions of women all over the world.
LETTER TO MY MOTHER
UN ambassador Waris Dirie shows a very personal side of herself here: as a tireless campaigner against the ritual genital mutilation of women - especially from her own painful experience. Waris Dirie has set down the words she was never able to say to her own mother in a long, emotional letter. It is both an accusation and an attempt at reconciliation. But she also writes unsparingly openly about the dark side of her modelling career, which drove her into alcohol abuse.
BLACK WOMAN, WHITE COUNTRY
Waris Dirie was born in the African desert - and has remained a nomad all her life. The white country is too cold and forbidding for her to put down roots here. Despite her international success as a model and her commitment to women's rights, Waris Dirie remains a black woman, a suspect for the police and a sex object for men. But her country of origin is just as foreign to her. In her book, Waris Dirie also tells of her anger at Africa, which is dominated by corruption and everyday violence. When her son Leon is born, she decides to give her child what she herself has not known for a long time: a real home.
SAVING SAFA
Little Safa comes from a desperately poor family in Djibouti. Having grown up in a slum, she is chosen to play the role of little Waris Dirie in the film adaptation of the global bestseller Desert Flower. The dramatic scene in which the little girl is forcibly circumcised brings tears to people's eyes in cinemas around the world. But in reality, Safa is still unharmed. Waris Dirie is all the more horrified when she learns that her mutilation is imminent. And she does everything she can to save the girl from this cruel fate.
Waris Dirie and the movie Desert Flower
In March 2008, filming for the adaptation of the bestseller Desert Flower will begin in Djibouti, then in New York, Berlin and London.
The movie Desert Flower was released in cinemas in 2009 and has touched millions of people to this day.
Scene from the movie Desert Flower with little Safa.
Top model Liya Kebede (in front) and Sally Hawkins.
Main character Liya Kebede.
Liya Kebede (Waris Dirie) with her film friend Marylin, played by Sally Hawkins.
Movie scene from the catwalk.
Timothy Spall plays top photographer Terry Donaldson.
During the filming in Djibouti.
Waris Dirie embraces Liya Kebede, who she plays in the film.
Waris Dirie at the film premiere of Desert Flower in Berlin.
The film is being produced by Oscar winner Peter Herrmann (Nowhere in Africa). Waris Dirie is co-producer, other co-producers come from France, Great Britain, Italy and Austria. The film is directed by German-American film director and screenwriter Sherry Hormann.
On 5 September 2009, Desert Flower celebrates its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Waris Dirie is played by Ethiopian top model Liya Kebede (The Face of Estée Lauder), who has already taken on roles in major productions: Robert DeNiro's The Good Shepherd and Nicolas Cage's Lord of War.
The cast includes other prominent actors such as Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky, Cassandra's Dream, Paddington), Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Vanilla Sky), Meera Syal (Scoop, Anita and Me), Juliette Stevenson (Kick it like Beckham) and Craig Parkinson (Control).
Waris Dirie and the musical Wüstenblume
Waris Dirie's life story still touches an audience of millions today. Following the world bestseller and successful film adaptation, Wüstenblume is now also available as a musical.
Scene from the musical Wüstenblume with leading actress Kerry Jean.
Naomi Simmonds (left) plays the young Waris Dirie.
Waris Dirie visiting rehearsals with leading actresses Kerry Jean (right) and Naomi Simmonds.
Waris Dirie at the world premiere of the musical with composer Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen and Joanna Jasik (right) from the Desert Flower Foundation.
Waris Dirie (left) with leading actress Kerry Jean at the musical press conference at the Deutsches Theater in Munich.
Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen is responsible for the music of the musical Wüstenblume. The German, who has worked with pop icon Nena and composed hits such as 99 Luftballons, is a guarantee for sensitive music. The musical was written and directed by Gil Mehmert (Das Wunder von Bern), who has worked for renowned European theatres and films.
In 2020, the musical Wüstenblume celebrates its world premiere at the St. Gallen Theatre in Switzerland. In 2023, Wüstenblume can be seen as a guest performance at the Deutsches Theater München. Further guest performances in Europe are planned for 2026.
Waris Dirie on why she decided to tell her life story in a musical: "Music is a language that everyone understands. I want to sensitise people with the musical. It's about making the world aware that genital mutilation has no place on this planet. And it's about encouraging girls and women to realise their wishes and dreams and themselves. Through the musical, I can reach many more people with my message."
Waris Dirie is getting closer to her life's goal step by step: "I want to end FGM once and for all in my lifetime!"