Where does Waris Dirie live? What is Waris Dirie doing now?

Waris Dirie is a Somali-born model, author, and human rights activist. Since 2009 Dirie has lived in Gdańsk, Poland. Temporarily also in Vienna.

Since March 2005, Dirie has held Austrian citizenship. Waris Dirie is known for her fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

From 1997 to 2003, she was a UN special ambassador against female genital mutilation. In 2002 she founded her own organization in Vienna, the Desert Flower Foundation.

What is Waris Dirie doing now?

Waris Dirie continues to be actively involved in advocacy work and raising awareness about female genital mutilation (FGM). She remains committed to fighting against this harmful practice and promoting women’s rights globally.

Waris Dirie has been instrumental in establishing the Desert Flower Foundation, an organization dedicated to combating FGM and supporting its survivors. Through the foundation, she works on initiatives to raise awareness, provide medical and psychological support, and advocate for legal measures to end FGM.

Dirie and the Desert Flower Foundation’s staff decided to make “Education in Africa” the emphasis of their work in 2016. The sponsored effort “Save A Little Desert Flower” has the potential to prevent 1,000 Sierra Leonean girls from FGM.