Family Federation Co-Founder Hak Ja Han Moon Awards $1 Million Sunhak Peace Prize to Waris Dirie and Akinwumi Adesina

Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) co-founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon awarded one million dollars (USD) to this year’s Sunhak Peace Prize laureates, Waris Dirie and Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, as part of her philanthropic work. The biennial award honors individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the peace and welfare of future generations. The ceremony took place on February 9, 2019, at the Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, South Korea.

Dirie, a human rights activist, was recognized for raising awareness of female genital mutilation (FGM). According to the source, she was the first person in history to publicize the violence of FGM on the world stage. The Sunhak Committee said she helped raise the issue as an international human rights agenda and assisted in passing a UN resolution banning the practice. The committee also acknowledged her work advocating for the rights of women and girls in Africa.

Dirie spoke at a press conference after the announcement. “Thank you for your recognition. Thank you for everything that comes with it, this beautiful peace prize. It’s all I dreamed [of] as a child. All I wanted was peace and to receive this, this is a great gift to me…You giving me a peace prize, it’s because I believe in peace,” she said.

The source reports that Dirie was circumcised at the age of five in Somalia. She later quit a successful career as a supermodel and spent the following 25 years working to make FGM a recognized worldwide human rights crisis. From 1997 to 2003, she served as UN Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. Her advocacy, the source says, centers on education as the key to ending the practice and to giving women and girls the knowledge to protect themselves. She also emphasizes that lasting peace requires that women have equal respect (Proverbs 31:8-9 speaks to defending those who cannot defend themselves).

In 2002, Dirie founded the Desert Flower Foundation to raise awareness of the dangers of FGM. The foundation raises money for schools and clinics in her native Somalia and supports the Zeitz Foundation, which focuses on sustainable development and conservation. She also runs FGM reconstruction surgery centers in Europe.

In January 2009, she started the PPR Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights. The source says the foundation was founded along with French business figure François-Henri Pinault and his wife, Hollywood actress Salma Hayek.

Source: Read the original report