Supermodel Waris Dirie's Uphill Task

[Gabbal]

The Nation (Nairobi)

 

September 22, 2004

Posted to the web September 22, 2004

 

Kwamboka Oyaro

Nairobi

 

Even as she kissed the ground on her arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi - a ritual she performs every time she returns to Africa - { must we say attenton seeking :rolleyes: } Somali supermodel Waris Dirie knew that her mission of helping eradicate female circumcision on the continent is no easy task.

 

Since 1997, when she was appointed the United Nations Population Fund's goodwill ambassador against female genital mutilation, nothing much has changed as more girls (and women) continue to undergo the rite the world over.

 

Dirie, who was in the country for the International Conference on Female Genital Mutilation last week, was moved to tears when 13-year-old Fouzia Hassan, a pupil at Gulab Lochab Academy in Eldoret, narrated her experience at the hands of a circumciser when she was eight.

 

Dirie is disgusted years after she underwent circumcision at the age of five, the practice is still rife, with two million girls exposed to it every year - or 6,000 each day - and that 38 per cent of women globally have already undergone it.

 

"Female circumcision is not cultural, traditional or religious requirement, it is a front to subdue women," she asserts, "And since it is not grounded on these three tenets, it is simple to stop it.

 

"We must educate women, children and men on the uselessness of the practice. Mothers should know that they subject their little girls to needless pain.

 

"I don't want to be here two years from now discussing female circumcision, travelling thousands of miles discussing meaningless words... it is tiring. It breaks my heart, this knowledge that anything to do with girls and women is just talk, talk and more talk without action.

 

"It is very barbaric and cruel. It goes on in much of the world, including the United Kingdom (among immigrants). People don't realise how serious it is." Dirie's sister and two cousins died of complications arising from circumcision.

 

After she underwent circumcision, Dirie promised herself to do something about it when she grew up. And through her work as a goodwill ambassador against the practice and her two books Desert Flower (a translation of her name) and its sequel, Desert Dawn, in which she talks about her experience, she has spread the message.

 

When she speaks to communities that practice FGM, they react with surprise and ask for reassurance that all will be well if their daughters are not circumcised.

 

Dirie believes that with the commitment of governments, female circumcision can easily be eliminated by outlawing it. However, she notes, laws alone will not eliminate the practice; what is needed is an overhaul of people's thinking, which can be achieved first by making them aware of the irrelevance of the practice.

 

Dirie's' life is an inspiration for those who have undergone the rite. She ran from home at 12 when she realised her father wanted to marry her off to a 60-year-old man in exchange for five camels and went to live with an uncle who later become the Somali ambassador to the UK and moved there with her (as a housemaid).

 

She was later discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor at McDonalds in London, marking the breakthrough for her career in international modelling. She now lives and models in New York but has not forgotten her motherland. Despite the sad memories of her circumcision, Dirie fondly remembers her childhood in nomadic Somalia, playing with her 11 brothers and sisters, and how excited she was when she was told she would undergo the rite.

 

"They made it sound so glamorous that I enthusiastically looked forward to it, often impatiently asking my mother when it would take place. But when it happened, it was so painful that it left a big, sick hole in my heart. Yet small girls continue to be wounded by this unnecessary and meaningless practice that only destroys. You gain nothing good; they take the good and leave the bad."

 

But she has moved on, she says, and advises those who have undergone the rite not to dwell on the past but to think of the future. She challenges them to break the silence and talk about it. They are the right people to spearhead the campaign against the practice, she says, because they went through it and know it better than anyone else. "You got power to make a difference by condemning it and speaking for the endangered girls."

 

Women should know their rights and accept that they were created beautiful and perfect so no one should put them down by subjecting them to the practice.

 

Dirie, who is in her mid 30s, will not tell her exact age. "You want to know my age? Come on! Ask mother earth!" she teases.

[Nomen nescio]

2 years ago when I was taking this English Writing class the professor asked us to pick any topic for our final essay which will be published on the class homepage, some 4 Xalimoos and 1 Farax who were taking the class with me chose to talk about FGM in Somalia.. they disgusted me to my stomach… I mean did you really run out of things to write about???

As much as I denounce FGM practices in Somalia I believe heifers like Waris and Iman usually exploit this epidemic for publicity,,,

[Gabbal]

heifers like Waris and Iman

You had to say it didn't you

 

Here comes the females.....------>

[Qac Qaac]

Dangerous u might have a point...

[LuCkY]

AsaLaamu ALaikum,

 

Its too bad that there is no improvement...and I dont think that FGM wiLL be coming to an end anythime soon.

 

Dangerous :

some 4 Xalimoos and 1 Farax who were taking the class with me chose to talk about FGM in Somalia.. they disgusted me to my stomach… I mean did you really run out of things to write about???

Why?Why did they disgust u to your stomach?

[LuCkY]

DoubLe Post!

[Bess.]

Originally posted by Dangerous:

2 years ago when I was taking this English Writing class the professor to pick any topic for our final essay which will be published on the class homepage, some 4 Xalimoos and 1 Farax who were taking the class with me chose to talk about FGM in Somalia.. they disgusted me to my stomach… I mean did you really run out of things to write about???

As much as I denounce FGM practices in Somalia I believe heifers like Waris and Iman usually exploit this epidemic for publicity,,,

why should that disgust u.....it is reality for many sisters out there...its unfortunate because ppl like those women above have exploited the situation....alot of ppl don't take the issue seriously anymore.....instead of disgust....try compassion....not for those "heifers"....but for all the others.....

peace

[- Femme -]

Im glad this is happening since no other muslim person is willing to do what Waris is doing. You never hear them on a mission to end this cruel and inhumane practice. Just becuase she is a model doesnt make her work any less important. Concentrate on the issue not the person who is talking about it.

[Gediid]

Damsel

The problem of FGM has nothing to do with Islam and it should not be brought into the argument.As for Waris Dirie I doubt if her crusade against FGM is anything but an aging model trying desperately to stay in the spotlight.

 

Dangerous

I have no idea why the girls decided to write an essay on the topic but I do agree with you somehow.There's nothing to be gained by writing an essay on all that is wrong with one's society.If this was for sympathy I doubt if a gasp or a sigh will suffice nor will it do anything for eradicting the practice.

[x_quizit]

Gedid and Dangerous, u sound like u want to sweep all ur cultures' problems under the rug, how can one's society be improved if u dont admit the wrongs in it and try to make it better? Its like an alcoholic saying he's doesnt have a drinking problem but hes getting better w/o first admitting he has a problem...

 

I doubt she's doing it for her personal gain and i take offense when brothers lightly dismiss FGM as a thing of the past or something unpleasant they rather not talk about. Instead of having menial talks about the 50 ways somalia can split btwn all the vying clans, how about some of u put ur efforts into trying to heal the country from the inside b4 u can decide what can be done with the outside...

[- Femme -]

^^^^ Hear, hear!!!

[Gediid]

X-Quizit

I agree we need to solve our problems from the inside not from the outside and presenting an essay on FGM to a class made up of 99% foreigners is to me the outside.It will only recieve a gasp of shock and in no way will a gasp be a solution.

 

Your second point that guys dismiss FGM as the thing of the past, I personally think its very much here though not as widely practiced as before now that more people know the harmful effects it has on girls.

[x_quizit]

"I agree we need to solve our problems from the inside not from the outside and presenting an essay on FGM to a class made up of 99% foreigners is to me the outside.It will only recieve a gasp of shock and in no way will a gasp be a solution."

 

Gedid, do u fear that once these foreigners see whats goin on in our culture, that some might deem us "uncivilized"? well guess what, they already do, who cares what a few ignorants think....the point is, those who wanna write about it are doing it to raise global awareness, not to gain sympathy from a few blonds. Its ok to share and let others know if this is happening in ur society, that it is wrong, if everyone kept it a secret, then how can anything be resolved in the end?

 

Peace

[Gediid]

X-Quizit

I do not fear being called uncivilized but I just don't see the rationale behind presenting an idea where no help or soltuions will be forecoming.

[x_quizit]

Gedid, says who no help will come if u talk about it? the more ppl know, the more ppl will leave the cave of ignorance and see the light. Maybe those in the class may not be able to help directly, but think of that one chic in class who u may help by voicing ur opinion that FGM is wrong and she will break the cycle and later in life not inflict that on her daughters. U see? its a chain, and just b/c u dont see an immediate gain, doesnt mean its wrong to talk about it.