Ewuraba - Professional African Women with Class and Style

Modeled for Calendar

Dirie's life took another amazing turn when fashion photographer Terence Donovan spotted her working at McDonald's and gave her his card, suggesting that she try modeling. At the time she did not understand what he was saying, but as her English improved she read the card and learned that it offered her a path into the profession followed by her idol, the Somali-born fashion model Iman. Her own career got off to a rocky start when she was told to remove her top during her first shoot and ran out of the building, but Donovan became a good friend, and she landed several high-profile modeling jobs, including one for L'Oreal cosmetics and another for a popular calendar issued by the Pirelli tire firm. She appeared on fashion-show runways and landed a role in The Living Daylights, which was filmed partly in Morocco, and she amazed film crews by entering and placing second in a camel race with several Arab male jockeys who had been hired as wranglers.

Despite this roaring start, however, Dirie had problems finding work in Britain due to a lingering prejudice against black models. In addition, she remained a nomad at heart, and she would continue to move from one place to another every few years over the next two decades. So in 1988 she moved to New York. She modeled for Revlon cosmetics, which at one time named her the most beautiful woman in the world. Immersed in the intense world of New York high fashion, Dirie sometimes wished for the slower pace of life in Africa. She met dozens of men but kept them at arm's length, unwilling to tell them about her background.

At A Glance …

Born 1965(?) in Somalia; grew up in nomadic culture; lived with jazz musician Dana Murray, New York, mid-1990s; children: one son, Aleeke. Education: Attended night classes in London, England.

Career: Bricklayer, maid, Mogadishu, Somalia, 1965(?); London, maid (for uncle), late 1960s; McDonald's, London, restaurant employee, 1970s; fashion model, 1980s–; United Nations special ambassador for women's rights in Africa, 1997–; author, 1998–.

Addresses: Office—Waris Dirie Foundation, Verein zur Förderung von Hilfsaktionen für Afrika, Millennium Tower 24th Floor, Handelskai 94-96, 1200 Vienna, Austria; Web—www.waris-dirie-foundation.com.

Dirie finally met jazz musician Dana Murray. "Part of my body was cut away but nothing important was missing when Dana kissed me," she told Stuart Wavell of London's Sunday Times. "For me sex has to do with how I feel about my partner. Intimacy begins in my head and ends in my heart." On their first date, Dirie told Murray that she was going to have his baby, and a son, Aleeke, was born in 1997. The relationship, however, eventually dissolved, and Dirie moved back to England.

During her stay in the United States, Dirie began to speak out about what she had experienced as a child. According to her website, the first reporter in whom she confided was Barbara Walters. Dirie took a risk in talking about genital mutilation, for some Islamic fundamentalists considered the procedure sacred. Discussing it, she told Johnston, "is as bad as running naked down Fifth Avenue," and she was and remains in danger of violent attack. But her story also stirred up international interest as she began to share it with with a range of other publications. Though speaking about her experiences remained difficult for her, Dirie did not avoid explicit descriptions of genital mutilation.

Published Autobiographical Novel

In 1997 Dirie published the book Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad, written with Cathleen Miller. Described as an autobiographical novel, the book traced the events of Dirie's childhood and her rise to international fame. The book was translated into major international languages, sold well in many countries and brought Dirie considerable publicity. In Germany it spent 120 weeks on the bestseller list maintained by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel. Singer Elton John optioned her story for a film, but the plans never came to fruition. Shortly after the book appeared, Dirie became the spokeswoman for a United Nations campaign against female circumcision, and she gave up her modeling career. Her official post was special ambassador for women's rights in Africa.

After returning to England with her son, Dirie avoided the hustle and bustle of London and settled in Cardiff, Wales. Her peaceful existence in rural England came to an end when she became the victim of a stalker, a mentally disturbed Portuguese man who may have become aware of her when a relative did maintenance work on her home. Dirie moved once again, to an apartment in Vienna, Austria. In March of 2004 the stalker tracked her down, talked his way into her apartment, and beat her up. He was arrested when he later tried to return.

Dirie wrote two more books. Desert Dawn (2003, written with Jeanne d'Haem) concerned her 1998 journey back to Somalia, where she found her family mostly ruined by the country's ongoing civil war. Despite the break that had occurred after the marriage he had arranged for her, Dirie's father told her that he was proud of what she had accomplished. Desert Children (2005) took up the cause of Islamic women in Europe who had experienced genital mutilation—some 500,000 were at risk, according to Dirie, especially in Germany and the Netherlands. "I have lived in the West for more than 20 years and I knew that this crime went on here before I even started researching my new book," she told Bryony Gordon of the Daily Telegraph. Would genital mutilation ever be eliminated? "Things will change," she told Wavell, "whether it's in my lifetime or the next generation."

Selected Writings

Books

(With Cathleen Miller) Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad, Morrow, 1998.

(With Jeanne d'Haem) Desert Dawn, Virago, 2003.

Desert Children, Virago, 2005.

Sources:
African American Biographies Vol 10; http://www.virago.co.uk;pictures from www.hello.com

Periodicals

Daily Telegraph (London, England), March 11, 2004, p. 7; October 31, 2005.

Express on Sunday (London, England), July 7, 2002, p. 54.

Houston Chronicle, November 26, 2004, p. 25.

Independent (London, England), March 22, 1998, p. 4.

Mirror (London, England), March 2, 1999, p. 21; July 5, 2002, p. 22.

People, November 2, 1998, p. 149.

Sunday Times (London, England), July 18, 2004, p. 7.

Time International, July 15, 2002, p. 58.

Times (London, England), October 3, 1997, p. 11.

Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales, England), March 11, 2004, p. 1.

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