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Waris Dirie (born 1965 in Somalia) is a Somali supermodel and a UN advocate for the abolition of female genital mutilation.In 1997, Waris Dirie quit modelling to focus on her work against female genital mutilation. That year UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed her Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation [2].

Her autobiographical novel Desert Flower, which tells the story of her own childhood and genital mutilation, has been printed in numerous languages and topped best-seller lists in Europe.

In 2007 she received the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur for her humanitarian work.