Women’s loyalty has to be earned with trust and affection, rather than barbaric rituals. The time has come to leave the old ways of suffering behind

- Waris Dirie

I love life. I wish I could live another 500 years, truly. There is so much to do. I don't feel bitter or angry or disappointed. If anything, I am ve…

- Waris Dirie

Give love and share happiness with the people around you, and never give up fighting for what you believe in.

- Waris Dirie

If you can survive in the desert, you survive anywhere. I know more than anything life in desert. You can tell by looking at the dirt how long ago it…

- Waris Dirie

We need to empower women: provide them with work for their own income, and teach them to become independent of men so they will never have to have th…

- Waris Dirie

I always knew, from the very day of my own mutilation, that I would one day fight against this practice. I did not know how and when, but I knew that…

- Waris Dirie

Mama tied a blindfold over my eyes. The next thing I felt my flesh was being cut away. I heard the blade sawing back and forth through my skin. The p…

- Waris Dirie

My mother named me after a miracle of nature: Waris means desert flower. The desert flower blooms in a barren environment where few living things can…

- Waris Dirie

I know what I am fighting for. I am fighting for the most basic rights of innocent children. And that is why I never take the criticism too deep unde…

- Waris Dirie