Waries Dirie.

Waries Dirie was born into a nomadic clan in Somalia in 1965. She is a top model, author and human rights activist against the female genital mutilation. Since 1997 to 2003 she was a United Nations special ambassador against the female genital mutilation. At the age of thirteen she ran away from her family in order to escape from an arranged marriage to a much older man. She escaped through the dessert and went to Madagiscio when she stayed with her sister.

In 1981 she landed in London and stayed with her uncle that worked for the embassy of Somalia in London but after the civil war broke out in Somalia caused the close of the Somalian embassy. In 1987 Waris spoke for the firts time about her experience and about female genital mutilation. That year She became a UN ambassador for the abolition of FMG.

By chance Waris was discovered by photographer Terence Donovan, who helped secure for the cover of the pirelli calendar. From there her modeling career took off.

Nowadays Waris is famous for all her campaing for the abolition of the FGM and also for her carrear as a model and author of books about her expirience.

Besides all of the books and movies that were made about her.

“Real beauty is not something you see in a mirror or on the cover of a magazine; it’s the way you live your life.”