DESERT FLOWER

By: Waris Dirie

GROUP 5
 BRIEF BACKGROUND OF AFRICA
africa is the second largest continent on the
planet.African continent is also one of the
culturally,ecologically, geographically diverse
of all seven continents.Africa is sometime
called the "Mother Continent" or the "Cradle of
Mankind" because it's the oldest inhabited
continent on earth.
Africa begins with the emergence of hominids,
archaic humans and - around 300–250,000 years
ago—anatomically modern humans (Homo
sapiens), in East Africa, and continues unbroken
into the present as a patchwork of diverse and
politically developing nation states. The earliest
known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt,
and later in Nubia, the Sahel, the Maghreb, and
the Horn of Africa.
Following the desertification of the Sahara,
North African history became entwined with
the Middle East and Southern Europe while
the Bantu expansion swept from modern day
Cameroon (Central Africa) across much of
the sub-Saharan continent in waves between
around 1000 BC and 1 AD, creating a
linguistic commonality across much of the
central and Southern continent.
During the Middle Ages, Islam spread west
from Arabia to Egypt, crossing the Maghreb
and the Sahel. Some notable pre-colonial
states and societies in Africa include the
Ajuran Empire, Bachwezi Empire, D'mt, Adal
Sultanate, Alodia, Warsangali Sultanate,etc. At
its peak, prior to European colonialism, it is
estimated that Africa had up to 10,000
different states and autonomous groups with
distinct languages and customs
From the late 15th century, Europeans joined the
slave trade. That includes the triangular trade,
with the Portuguese initially acquiring slaves
through trade and later by force as part of the
Atlantic slave trade. They transported enslaved
West, Central, and Southern Africans overseas.
Subsequently, European colonization of Africa
developed rapidly from around 10% (1870) to
over 90% (1914) in the Scramble for Africa
(1881–1914).
However following struggles for independence
in many parts of the continent, as well as a
weakened Europe after the Second World War
(1939–1945), decolonization took place across
the continent, culminating in the 1960 Year of
Africa. Disciplines such as recording of oral
history, historical linguistics, archaeology, and
genetics have been vital in rediscovering the
great African civilizations of antiquity.
 AFRICA LITERATURE
Defining African literature can be complicated;
54 different nations make up the continent of
Africa, each one with its own unique history,
culture, tribes, and traditions. These works can
be either oral or written, some in African and
Afro-Asiatic languages and others in the
European languages that influenced them.
Unlike European and Western literature, African
literature has an inclusive awareness that emphasizes
an artistic use of words as a way to teach important
truths and remind their community of what their
ancestors once went through.The origins of African
Literature can be dated back thousands of years to
Ancient Egypt through hieroglyphs, or pictorial
representations of words. Over time, the use of
hieroglyphs became widespread around Egypt and
became more developed.
This eventually led to the use of Arabic poetry,
which began to spread more rapidly after
Arabia conquered Egypt in the seventh century
C.E and throughout Western Africa in the ninth
century C.E. These African and Arabic cultures
continued to blend with Greco–Roman and
other European culture and literature that
resulted in its own unique literary form.
WARIS DIRIE
 AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Waris Dirie (Somali: Waris Diiriye) (born in 1965)
is a Somali model, author, actress and human
rights activist in the 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.
Dirie was born as one of twelve children into a
nomadic family in 1965 in the area of Galkayo. Her
first name, Waris, means desert flower. When she
was five, she suffered mutilation in the form of
infibulation. At the age of thirteen, she fled through
the desert to Mogadishu in order to escape an
arranged marriage to a 60-year-old man. She first
stayed there with relatives, although her escape
was not tolerated.
One of her uncles, who was then Somali
ambassador to the United Kingdom, was looking
for a maid. With the help of her aunt, she convinced
her uncle to hire her and take her to London, where
she worked at her uncle's house for little pay. After
her uncle's four-year term, Dirie left and lived in a
number of unstable housing arrangements, later
renting a room in a YMCA. She earned her living as
a cleaner in a local McDonald's. She also began
evening classes to learn English.
Aged 18, Dirie was by chance discovered by
photographer Mike Goss, as she stood waiting for
her charge outside of his daughter's school.
Through getting the children to translate for them,
Mike persuaded Waris to model for him.
Afterwards, he helped her get a portfolio together
and get her representation, although a lot of
modelling agencies claimed there was 'no call for
black models'. One of her first modelling jobs was
for Terence Donovan, who photographed her.
 In 1987 together with the then still
unknown model Naomi Campbell for the
title of the Pirelli Calendar. From there,
Dirie's modeling career took off, she soon
became successful model, appearing in
advertisements for top brands such as
Chanel, Levi's, L'Oréal and Revlon.
In 1987, Dirie played a minor role in the
James Bond film The Living Daylights. She
also appeared on the runways of London,
Milan, Paris and New York, and in fashion
magazines such as Elle, Glamour and
Vogue. This was followed in 1995 by a BBC
documentary entitled A Nomad in New
York about her modeling career
In 1997, at the height of her modeling career,
Dirie spoke for the first time with Laura Ziv of
the women's magazine Marie Claire about the
female genital mutilation (FGM) that she had
undergone as a child, at the age of five along
with her two sisters. That same year, Dirie
became a UN envoy for the abolition of FGM.
She later paid her mother a visit in her native
Somalia.
In 1998, Dirie coauthored her first book along with
nonfiction author Cathleen Miller: Desert Flower, an
autobiography that went on to become an
international bestseller. Over 11 million copies
have been sold worldwide to date, 3 million in
Germany alone. She later released other successful
books including Desert Dawn, Letter to My Mother
and Desert Children, the latter of which was
launched in tandem with a European campaign
against FGM.
In 2002, Dirie founded the Desert
Flower Foundation in Vienna. The
foundation collects money to raise
awareness about the worldwide
problem of FGM and to help those
affected. In the same year, she
received the Corine Literature Prize.
In 2004, she received the World Social Award
by Mikhail Gorbachev at the Women's World
Award Gala in Hamburg, Germany. Dirie opened
the World Conference against FGM in Nairobi,
delivered a much-noticed speech and published
for the first time the Waris-Dirie Manifesto
against FGM. The Austrian Federal President
Heinz Fischer awarded her the Romero Prize on
behalf of the Austrian Catholic Men's Movement.
In 2006, she addressed the assembled
ministers of all EU Member States in
Brussels. The European Union then put
the fight against female genital
mutilation on its agenda, after which
laws were tightened up and preventive
measures initiated in many European
countries.
In 2007, the Arab channel Al Jazeera
invited Waris Dirie to the popular talk
show by Riz Khan. She spoke for the
first time on an Arab channel in front of
over 100 million viewers about the
taboo topic "Female Genital Mutilation".
In 2009, Desert Flower, a feature-length film
based on Waris' book Desert Flower was released,
with the Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede
playing her. Directed by Sherry Hormann, the film
was produced by Oscar winner Peter Herrmann.
Benjamin Herrmann and Waris Dirie were co-
producers. The movie has so far been released in
20 countries including France, Spain, Israel,
Greece, Poland and Brazil.
In January 2010, it won the Bavarian Film Awards
in Munich in the "Best Movie" category. It was
also nominated for a Film Award in Gold in the "
Outstanding Feature Film" category at the
German Film Awards, and won the Audience
Award in the "Best European Film" category at the
San Sebastián International Film Festival.
In 2010, Dirie was appointed Ambassador of
Peace and Security in Africa by the African Union.
Contrary to popular belief, Dirie is not related to fellow
Somali model Iman, the widow of David Bowie. In her
book Desert Flower, Dirie states that Iman's mother was
good friends with her aunt, a relative with whom she
once lived during her time in London.
Since 2009 Dirie lives in Gdańsk, Poland. Temporarily
also in Vienna. She is mother of two sons (Aleeke, Leon)
.
Since March 2005, Dirie has held Austrian citizenship.
 NON-FICTION
Nonfiction (also spelled non-fiction) is any document
or media content that attempts, in good faith, to
provide accurate information regarding a real-world
topic. It is written to communicate facts or opinions
about reality. Nonfictional content may be presented
either objectively or subjectively. Nonfiction is one of
the fundamental divisions of narrative writing
(specifically, prose) — in contrast to fiction, largely
populated by imaginary characters and events, though
sometimes ambiguous regarding its basis in reality.
Africa
Waris Dirie was a child of the desert, as tenacious and
beautiful as the flowers that bloom.There after a rain. She
lived through heat and drought and deprivation, but her
most horrific test came in a brutal rite of passage. Now,
Waris Dirie is one of the world’s stunning women, details
her remarkable life- from a goatherd’s hut in Somalia to
the pages of Vogue. In revealing her painful, intimate
secret, this courageous woman hopes to help put an end
to a tradition that has mutilated too many innocent for
too many years.
 DESERT FLOWER
By: Waris Dirie
Dirie's story begins in 1965 when she is born in the East
African country of Somalia, in a city called Calkayo.
Her parents are both Somali, but they do not live
according to the contemporary customs that most do
in their country. As pastoral nomads, Dirie and her
family live in the harsh and unforgiving desert,
constantly moving and cut off from the cosmopolitan
influences of large and small cities alike.
They live in the tradition of their ancestors
moving around frequently with the animals they
herd, among other ancient survival tactics
passed on to each successive generation of
wandering desert-dwellers.But while many of the
family’s traditions are crucial to their survival,
other practices of the nomads are not only
extremely outdated, but they also result in
horrific pain and long-term trauma for young
girls like Dirie.
 The author reveals that as a five-year-old she
was a victim of female genital mutilation, a
extremely painful procedure that usually causes
lifelong damage to the reproductive organs and
that often result in fatal bleeding and infections.
Female genital mutilation is a cultural practice
often done out of a sadistically misguided
interest to preserve a young woman’s “purity.
Her mutilation, however, is only the beginning of
her suffering as a woman. At the age of 13, Dirie
learns she is to be wed in an arranged marriage to
a 60-year-old man. In exchange for her hand in
marriage, Dirie’s father is set to receive five camels
from the groom. To avoid marrying the old man,
Dirie runs away from her family. Her ambition is to
reach Mogadishu, Somalia's capital and also its
largest city.
 Dirie also hopes that the relatives she knows in and
around the city will accept her into their home. First,
however, Dirie must cross a stretch of desert full of
natural and man-made dangers. Not long after running
away, Dirie understands why so many women stay
behind in bad situations, rather than face the countless
dangers of escaping. For example, in the desert Dirie
encounters a truck driver who tries to rape her. Dirie
survives the attack, but only after fighting the trucker
with her hands.
After a long, painful series of trials and hardships,
Dirie finally arrives in Mogadishu and is allowed to
stay at her older sister’s house. Unfortunately, her
stay is short-lived, but Dirie finds other relatives
from her extended family who kindly get her on her
feet. Along with a number of these relatives, Dirie
leaves Somalia behind and settles in London,
England. Here, Dirie obtains a job at the embassy
through her uncle who has been appointed the
Ambassador to Somalia in the United Kingdom.
Things go well for a time until her uncle’s term
ends, and he and the rest of her relatives decide
to return to Somalia, insisting that Dirie
accompany them. Dirie refuses, going so far as
to make it so she physically cannot leave the
county, hiding her passport and ID from her
relatives and thereby preventing them from
coercing her into leaving with them.
Eventually, Dirie’s family accepts that they have little
choice but to let her stay in London. But with her uncle
out at the embassy, Dirie too loses her job there. To stay
afloat, she works at McDonald’s. Meanwhile, the trauma
inflicted upon Dirie during her early years still haunts her.
For instance, when a prominent photographer asks Dirie if
he can take her picture, she becomes extremely
uncomfortable, owing to a lifetime marked by sexual
violence—or the threat thereof—carried out by strange
men.
 If not for these crippling trust issues, Dirie might
have found success as a model much earlier.
Fortunately, Dirie keeps the photographer’s business
card and phone number. After some time spinning
her wheels and going nowhere, Dirie—at the urging
of a friend—calls the photographer who agrees to
meet her. His name is Terence Donovan, and he is a
famous fashion photographer and producer a
number of music videos, including Robert Palmer’s
smash hit “Addicted to Love.”
Confident that he has discovered the next big thing,
Donovan uses his industry connections to convince the
prominent Italian tire manufacturer, Pirelli, to put Dirie on
the cover of its 1987 Pirelli Calendar. Dirie then parlays
the exposure into high-profile appearances in ad
campaigns for some of the world’s biggest fashion and
beauty brands, including Chanel, Levi’s, Revlon, and L’Oreal.
Hollywood even comes knocking, giving Dirie a small but
memorable part in the 1987 James Bond film, The Living
Daylights, starring Timothy Dalton.
Whether on the runways in Milan or in the pages
of Vogue, Waris Dirie is a hit. And while she
owes Donovan an immense debt for helping get
her foot in the door, for Dirie to achieve such rare
success—and to do it so quickly despite having
no prior experience—is not something that
happens because of connections alone. Rather,
it’s a testament to her Dirie’s own strengths: her
talent, her energy, and her discipline.
Modeling gives her money and stability.
Beyond these comforts, her career also gives
her a measure of status and respect as a
woman that, had Dirie stayed in the desert,
would have forever eluded her. But what's most
important, in Dirie's mind, is the megaphone
her newfound fame has given her, which she
views as an opportunity to reach millions with
her story.
For Dirie, it’s not enough to have escaped the
pain and terror of one’s origins when millions
of other girls and women suffer still under the
weight of opression. And so as painful as it is
to think and speak about, Dirie feels she has a
responsibility to use her position and the
platform it affords her to do all she can to end
the crime of female genital mutilation.
Before Dirie can help others, she has to come to grips
with her own memories of genital mutilation. And so
in 1997, she tells the magazine Marie Claire about
having undergone female genital mutilation and
reveals that her two sisters were given the same
gruesome, horrifically painful procedure. Ironically, a
whole decade after losing her job as a staffer for her
uncle, the Somali ambassador, Dirie herself becomes
a UN ambassador committed to eradicating FGM,
completing a deeply circuitous route from world
diplomacy to modeling and back again.
 BIOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Desert Flower is the inspiring life story of
Waris Dirie's transformation from somalia
desert nomad to international supermodel.
The story begins with waris's pastoralist
childhood in the Somalia desert where she
lives with her family.
 LINGUISTIC CONTEXT
Dirie used her story to reveal the painful experiences of women in a
chauvinistic society and dastardly effects of female genital
mutilation. Appropriated as a tool in the disassembly of cultural
stereotypes in traditional African societies and female identity
format on specifically in the somalia society.

The title "Dessert Flower" is personification because the novel is an

autobiography,that Waris Dirie represents a dessert flower.This has
both literal and figurative implications.Literally,Waris is beautiful,like a
flower,within dusty and rough Somalia.Thus, she blossomed altough
had access to few resources or connections as a child .
 SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Violence against women from Early
childhood, Dirie is a victim of rape and
Genital Mutilation. Female Genital
Mutilation is the ritual cutting or removal
of some or all of the external female
genitalia.
 PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXT
The smooth appearance of an infibulated
vulva, there also a belief that infibulated
increase hygiene. Common reasons for
FGM cited by women in surveys are social
appearance, religion hygiene, preservation
of virginity, marriageability and
enhancement of male sexual pleasure.
G Jessa Ann Berame
Jenny Mae Ybanez
R Jaicah Mae Sinoy
O Johnlheen Dinglasa
Kyrstine Relosa
U Arlene Dico
P Prixie Sacil
Wyane Inihao
Shirebeth bayno
5 Princess Lara marcasa
Jaime Angelo juanillo
THANK YOU
GOD BLESS