Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of female genital mutilation, rape, and attempted rape.

One of Dirie’s main agendas is to draw attention to the horrors of FGM. For this reason, Dirie unflinchingly describes her own traumatic experience of FGM at only five years old. She conjures vivid imagery of the procedure, describing the “dried blood on the jagged edge of the blade,” which the woman who performed the procedure “spat on and wiped […] against her dress” (42). Dirie’s description emphasizes the unsanitary nature of the procedure and the overwhelming and horrific pain that the child Dirie is about to endure. Dirie crafts an immersive reading experience by going beyond visual details, incorporating the sounds of the procedure into her narrative. Readers are made to hear “the sound of the dull blade sawing back and forth through [Dirie’s] skin” (42). Dirie’s depiction also conveys the intense emotional pain and trauma that accompanies the procedure. She describes her legs going numb with horror, saying “the pain between them was so intense that [she] wished [she] would die” (42). Through these graphic details, Dirie conveys the excruciating pain of the procedure, which is undertaken with no anesthetic.

Dirie also makes a case for the inherent misogyny of FGM. According to Dirie, the procedure is normalized based on disgust at women’s bodies and the regulation and control of women’s sexuality. She writes, “The prevailing wisdom in Somalia is that there are bad things between a girl’s legs, parts of our bodies that we’re born with, yet are unclean” (37). FGM removes these “unclean” parts, as the shock of Dirie’s post-procedure vulva makes clear: “I discovered a patch of skin completely smooth except for a scar down the middle like a zipper” (45). Dirie further illustrates the connection between misogyny and FGM by describing an interaction with an old man, who cruelly tells Dirie and her younger sister, “Get away from me, you two unsanitary little girls […] You haven’t even been circumcised yet!” (40). This encounter further illustrates the deep-seated beliefs about the inherent uncleanness of girls and women that are used to justify the violent procedure.

According to Dirie, women are considered defiled by sex outside of marriage, and FGM is said to protect virginity. She explains, “This strategy ensured that I could never have sex until I was married, and my husband would be guaranteed he was getting a virgin” (44-45). FGM begets further violence when women do have sex, as is illustrated by Dirie’s description of the forcible penetration or cutting needed to have sex: “My genitals were sealed up like a brick wall that no man would be able to penetrate until my wedding night, when my husband would either cut me open with a knife or force his way in” (45). Though Dirie eventually receives surgery to separate her labia, negating the need for forcible penetration or cutting, she makes it clear that FGM has a permanent impact on her sexuality by effectively eliminating her ability to feel sexual pleasure. In this way, Dirie illustrates how FGM results in control over women’s sexuality, even when they are able to receive medical intervention.

Due to cultural beliefs that characterize the procedure as a transition from the “unclean” state of girlhood into “clean” womanhood, Dirie explains that girls are eager for the procedure, waiting for it with anticipation and even excitement. She writes, “They eagerly away their ‘special time’ […] that will mark their transformation from being a little girl to becoming a woman” (38). This excitement is also perpetuated by the intentional silence around the excruciating pain of the procedure, as illustrated by Dirie’s procedure being conducted away from the camp in the early morning. She writes, “Now I know the reason they take the girls so early in the morning. They want to cut them before anybody wakes up, so nobody else will hear them scream” (41). The silence surrounding FGM is echoed by the community’s silence around the girls who die from FGM, including Dirie’s sister Halemo. Mothers and older sisters are complicit in the silence around the incredible pain of the procedure. According to Dirie, older women remain silent because no man will consider marriage to a woman who hasn’t undergone FGM, and marriage is considered a necessity for female survival. Dirie’s discussion of FGM suggests that the silence that surrounds the procedure is in large part responsible for its continued perpetuation. Her memoir stands against this silence by highlighting the pain and trauma of the procedure in graphic, unsparing detail.