Title: Wüstenblume
First published: 1998
Description: Waris Dirie leads a double life -- by day, she is an international supermodel and human rights ambassador for the United Nations; by night, she dreams of the simplicity of life in her native Somalia and the family she was forced to leave behind. Desert Flower, her intimate and inspiring memoir, is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered about the beauty of African life, the chaotic existence of a supermodel, or the joys of new motherhood.Waris was born into a traditional Somali family, desert nomads who engaged in such ancient and antiquated customs as genital mutilation and arranged marriage. At twelve, she fled an arranged marriage to an old man and traveled alone across the dangerous Somali desert to Mogadishu -- the first leg of an emotional journey that would take her to London as a house servant, around the world as a fashion model, and eventually to America, where she would find peace in motherhood and humanitarian work for the U.N.Today, as Special Ambassador for the U.N., she travels the world speaking out against the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation, promoting women's reproductive rights, and educating people about the Africa she fled -- but still deeply loves.Desert Flower will be published simultaneously in eleven languages throughout the world and is currently being produced as a feature film by Rocket Pictures UK.
Subjects: Beschneidung, Ma dchen, Autobiographie, Female Circumcision, Women's Rights, Mädchen, Beschneidung (Frau), Memoiren, Frau, Biography, Models (Persons), Diplomats, Women in politics, Women social reformers, Afro-American women legislators, Women diplomats, Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction, Women, Political activity, New York Times reviewed, Women, political activity, Models (persons), biography, Diplomats, biography, Excision (ethnologie), Lutte contre, Mannequins (personnes), Moeurs et coutumes, Biographies, Conditions sociales, Recits personnels, Femmes, Vrouwen, Circumcisie, African American women legislators United States Biography, Women social reformers Somalia Biography, Women in politics Somalia Biography, Women's rights Somalia, Female circumcision Somalia, Waris Dirie, Récits personnels, Réformatrices sociales, Femmes en politique, Droits, Excision, Document, Femme, Vie quotidienne, Droits de la femme, Mutilation sexuelle, Prévention, Donna, Posizione sociale, Diari e memorie
Places: Afrika, Somalia, United States, Somalie
People: Waris Dirie, Waris Dirie (1965-), Waris Dirie (19..-)
Time periods: 1970- ..., 1970-2000, 20e s. (fin)
LC classification: HQ1236.5.S58 D57 1998