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Somalian Model, Writer and Human Rights Activist Visits Slovakia
Friday 05 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 5 (TASR) - Somalian model, writer, actress and human rights activist Waris Dirie, 45, has come to Bratislava at the invitation of Ikar publishing company.
At her meeting with journalists on Friday, Dirie mentioned a number of issues ranging from her book entitled 'Desert Flower' that portrays her life story and was adapted as a film to the Waris Dirie Foundation she founded in 2002 in Vienna. However, she mostly talked about her fight for human rights, the rights of children living in Africa and the struggle against female circumcision.
"When I've started my fight against female circumcision that African girls experience at a very young age and often with tragic consequences, I was afraid whether people would understand me. But I was wrong ... people listened and showed interest in this serious problem," she said, adding that people in many countries of the world stood up to fight against this cruel treatment of African girls.
The Ikar publishing company handed over a cheque worth €5,000 to Dirie for her foundation representing a joint contribution made by publishing house Ringier, Panta Rhei, the Slovak Association of Publishers and Booksellers and Ikar in order to aid her in her struggle against female mutilation.
More than 40,000 copies of the book 'Desert Flower' have been sold in Slovakia to date. The movie, directed by Sherry Horman, has been screened in 20 countries including France, Spain, Greece, Poland, Brazil and Slovakia, where it has been seen by 50,000 visitors to date.
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