Desert Children
Desert Children tells how she and the journalist Corinna Milborn have investigated the practice of FGM in Europe - they estimate that up to 500,000 women and girls have undergone or are at the risk of FGM. At the moment, France is the only country in which offenders are convicted and no European country officially recognises the threat of genital mutilation as a reason for asylum. Here are the voices of women who have felt encouraged and emboldened by Waris Dirie's courage. They speak out for...
Search in google:
U.N. Special Ambassador Waris Dirie was born to a family of tribal nomads in Somalia. She told her story—enduring female circumcision, fleeing through the desert, and, improbably, becoming a top model—in her first book, Desert Flower. In Desert Dawn, she wrote about her return to Somalia and her work as a U.N. Special Ambassador against FGM (female genital mutilation). Her latest book recounts her investigations into the practice of FGM in Europe—it is estimated that as many as 500,000 women and girls have undergone FGM or are at risk. Here are the voices of women who have felt emboldened by Waris Dirie’s courage. Kirkus Reviews Third volume in Revlon model Dirie's continuing campaign to bring an end to the practice of female genital mutilation. Desert Flower (1998, not reviewed) told of the author's personal experience with FGM as a child in Somalia and of her escape to England; it also recounted her work combating the practice in Africa as a UN Special Ambassador. Here, she examines the extent of FGM in Europe. Dirie estimates that at least half-a-million women and girls currently living in Europe have been mutilated or are at risk. She describes her travels throughout the continent interviewing women working to eradicate the practice, health workers, women who have endured FGM and doctors who perform reconstructive surgery. She paints a vivid picture of what FGM does to a woman's body and frequently lets the victims tell in their own words of its devastating physical and psychological effects. Her text makes it clear that many of these women, though they reside in European countries, are almost completely isolated from Western culture. They may not speak the country's language or have any knowledge of its mores or laws; they are subject to their husbands' dictates. As a black woman and victim of FGM, Dirie made an intimate connection with her interviewees. While acknowledging that some cultural traditions dictate FGM as a prerequisite for marriage, she adamantly rejects the assertion that Islam requires it, and she demands that imams speak out against it. She also calls for better education of the general public, women at risk, social workers and health workers; for greater recognition of the crime in European judicial systems; and for increased prosecution and punishment of offenders. Appendices summarize theknown facts about FGM; outline FGM legislation in various European nations; and list sources of help. A hard-hitting message about a brutal practice that's clearly aimed at a European audience. American readers will wonder if the problem exists within U.S. borders.
Preface viiMy third life 1Island of the blessed 45'It has got to stop; it just has to stop' 80'A child on its own cannot protect itself' 112They do it here, too 145It has nothing to do with religion 167Cases must go to court 189Epilogue: I have a dream 208Appendix I 213Appendix II 221Who will help? 227
\ Kirkus ReviewsThird volume in Revlon model Dirie's continuing campaign to bring an end to the practice of female genital mutilation. Desert Flower (1998, not reviewed) told of the author's personal experience with FGM as a child in Somalia and of her escape to England; it also recounted her work combating the practice in Africa as a UN Special Ambassador. Here, she examines the extent of FGM in Europe. Dirie estimates that at least half-a-million women and girls currently living in Europe have been mutilated or are at risk. She describes her travels throughout the continent interviewing women working to eradicate the practice, health workers, women who have endured FGM and doctors who perform reconstructive surgery. She paints a vivid picture of what FGM does to a woman's body and frequently lets the victims tell in their own words of its devastating physical and psychological effects. Her text makes it clear that many of these women, though they reside in European countries, are almost completely isolated from Western culture. They may not speak the country's language or have any knowledge of its mores or laws; they are subject to their husbands' dictates. As a black woman and victim of FGM, Dirie made an intimate connection with her interviewees. While acknowledging that some cultural traditions dictate FGM as a prerequisite for marriage, she adamantly rejects the assertion that Islam requires it, and she demands that imams speak out against it. She also calls for better education of the general public, women at risk, social workers and health workers; for greater recognition of the crime in European judicial systems; and for increased prosecution and punishment of offenders. Appendices summarize theknown facts about FGM; outline FGM legislation in various European nations; and list sources of help. A hard-hitting message about a brutal practice that's clearly aimed at a European audience. American readers will wonder if the problem exists within U.S. borders.\ \
