Waris Dirie grasped that the practice is still carried out due to the “financial benefit” to families from selling their daughters at high cost, not because of tradition or culture. Therefore, as a fundamental solution to the issue, she is at the forefront of helping victims to stand independently, by providing basic literacy education and career education.
Waris Dirie states, “My goal is to help the women of Africa. I want to see them get stronger, not weaker, and the practice of FGM simply weakens them physically and emotionally. Since women are the backbone of Africa, and they do most of the work, I like to imagine how much they could accomplish if they weren’t butchered as children and left to function maimed for the rest of their lives.”
Waris Dirie is calling out passionately that eradicating FGM can empower and expand the rights of women and transform Africa.
The Official Web Site of the Sunhak Peace Prize
