Women’s rights activist: Waris Dirie

The daughter of Somalian nomads, Waris Dirie fled her country at the age of 13 to escape an arranged marriage with a 60-year-old man and moved to London.While in London, she was spotted in the street by a photographer and  began her career as an international model.

Waris was circumcised at the age of 3 in the name of tradition, so she has made the fight against female genital mutiliation a major part of her life. She decided to take the couragous step and talk publicly to the media about her female circumcision; she was later appointed goodwill ambassador for the United Nations by Kofi Annan.  In 2002, she created the Waris Dirie Foundation, and continues to fight against female genital mutilation across the world.