Film Review #7 - International Women's Day Special

Hey guys!

I guess, after all the tweets and hashtags and general media attention, you know that this week, on the 8th March, was International Women's Day.

In this context and because I find this film very relevant, even if it's not new by any means, in this episode I want to talk about Desert Flower which, if you don't know it yet (you should watch it!), is a biographical film based on the same-titled autobiography of Waris Dirie.

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As I mentioned, the film is not new, it was released in 2009. The main topic is the fate of millions of girls, mostly in Africa, who have to go through female genital mutilation and child marriage.

This one example of a woman that went through this kind of horrible treatment is that of model Waris Dirie from Ethiopia. She secretly escaped her family in her childhood in fear of her forced marriage to an older man. She then goes to London and works under slave-like conditions and is not allowed to ever go outside. In her young adult years, she is discovered by a influencial photographer and her carreer starts to develop while her personality slowly starts to blossom. Eventually, she uses her fame and starts talking about the topic of female genital mutilation and child marriage in Africa and also other countries in the world to spread awareness and help girls and women around the world.

This film is not one for the sensitive person because the story of Waris Dirie is an unbelievably heart-breaking one. Nevertheless, I find it has the status of a MUST SEE film due to its tremendously important topic and the performance of Liya Kebede that is so authentic and wonderfully done. Waris Dirie is a truely inspirational woman to me that has never given up and once she had worked herself to the top of her modeling career used her voice to spread awareness, to encourage other women and try to help fighting against the horrific rites that physically and mentally hurt long-term and abuse young girls' bodies and lives. 

To those who have seen the film, what is your opinion on it? To everyone, who are the women that inspire you and which films do you find very relevant regarding inspirational people and human rights? My inspirations also include Emma Watson and Natalie Portman but I would love to know about yours!

#internationalwomensday #empoweringwomen #inspirationalwomen

♥