Lily Cole slammed for posing in Afghani burqa to promote her new book
Model Lily Cole is slammed for posing in an Afghani burqa in a publicity stunt to promote her book on climate change – as women in the country face severe oppression at the hands of the Taliban
Lily Cole has been slammed for posing in an Afghani burqa to promote new book Model said she wanted to ‘celebrate diversity of ideas’ as she posed in burqa Comes as Afghani women in the country are set to face severe oppression due to advance of the Taliban
Lily Cole has been slammed for posing in an Afghani burqa to promote her new book on climate change – as Afghanistan fell into the tyrannical and misogynistic hands of the Taliban.
The British supermodel, 33, who lives in Portugal with her boyfriend Kwame Ferreira and their five-year-old daughter Wylde shared two pictures to Instagram of herself wearing the face covering.
In one, the blue veil covers her face while in a second she reveals her face and looks directly at the camera. She uploaded the provocative photos to promote her new book Who Care Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World.
Encouraging followers to buy her book, she wrote: ‘It’s out. Let’s embrace diversity on every level: biodiversity; cultural diversity; diversity of thinking; diversity of voices; diversity of ideas.’
Many were quick to criticise the now-deleted picture, saying she was guilty of ‘cultural appropriation’ and ‘putting Instagram gesturing above human rights’.
‘The oppression of Afghan girls is to be fought, not cosplayed. This is disgusting,’ wrote one.
Lily Cole has been slammed for posing in an Afghani burqa to promote her new book on climate change – as Afghanistan fell into the tyrannical and misogynistic forces of the Taliban
She uploaded the provocative photos to promote her new book Who Care Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World.
The pictures, which were posted on Saturday to her 95,000 followers, remained up for three days before being deleted.
This morning, she issued a grovelling apology saying the burqa was ‘borrowed from a friend’ and she wasn’t aware of the news of the Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan and that the post was ‘incredibly ill-timed’.
FEMAL has contacted Lily Cole for comment.
The Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday, securing their power over the nation by posing in the presidential palace, causing many Afghan women to desperately flee the country in fear of their own lives.
Many were quick to criticise the now-deleted picture, saying she was guilty of ‘cultural appropriation’ and ‘putting Instagram gesturing above human rights’.
During Taliban rule in the 1990s, women were forced to wear coverings from head to toe, not allowed to work or attend schools and not allowed to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.
Slamming the model, The Times columnist Janice Turner wrote on Twitter: ‘Lily Cole and the vacuity of modern hashtag-feminism. Putting Instagram posturing before universal human rights.
‘I bet Afghan women are celebrating the “diversity” of wearing this shroud.’
Activist Caroline Criado Perez – who successfully campaigned to get Jane Austin’s face on the £10 note – added: ‘I just went to check her Insta as I couldn’t believe that would be recent (not that it would be ok if it were not) and… three days ago. Holy s*** Why?’
Lily, who last week came out as ‘queer’, has posted an apology on her Instagram story with links to Afghan women’s organisations she says she’s donated to.
A British soldier stands guard as hundreds of civilians are loaded on to an evacuation flight at Kabul airport on Monday, after the tarmac was cleared of thousands of people desperately trying to flee
Hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban declared an ‘amnesty’ across Afghanistan and urged women to join their government Tuesday, seeking to convince a wary population that they have changed a day after deadly chaos gripped the main airport as desperate crowds tried to flee the country.
CEO of Staffordshire Women’s Aid Dickie James MBE added: ‘White, Western identity politics and privilege pretending to be feminism. Yuk!’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘Playing dress up as a subjugated woman. That’s definitely a sign of a well rounded personality.’
‘The self-indulgence and lack of awareness from her is staggering. So inappropriate and thoughtless,’ said another.
Others pointed out how she was insensitive by posing with nail polish in the pictures, because many Afghan girls had their fingers amputated for wearing nail polish in the 1990s.
Lily, who last week came out as ‘queer’, posted an apology on her Instagram story with links to Afghan women’s organisations she says she’s donated to.
The model, 33, married entrepreneur Kwame Ferreira in 2012 and the pair have been living in Portugal with their five-year-old daughter Wylde for the past year (The couple are pictured in London in 2016)
She wrote: ‘This week I posted an old photo of me wearing a burqa loaned to me by a friend, as she pointed out I was undermining its original purpose by wearing it with my face exposed, but I understand why the image has upset people and want to sincerely apologise for any offence caused.
‘I hadn’t read the news at the time I posted so it was incredibly ill timed (thank you for pointing that out to me).
‘My heart breaks reading about what is happening in Afghanistan at the moment, and in looking for organisations helping women on the ground I can support, I thought I would share some I found/ donated to.’
On Sunday, Lily explained that while she is a private person who likes to keep her personal life out of the public eye, she has felt the need to ‘acknowledge that she’s not straight’, telling The Sunday Times Style magazine: ‘I like that world because of it’s openness, because I think all those boundaries are quite rigid.’
There are at least 40,000 people who need evacuating from Afghanistan, including some 30,000 Americans and 4,000 Britons. Spain, France and India confirmed today that an unknown number of diplomatic staff had been flown out on Tuesday, while Russian and Indonesia said their embassies will be partially evacuated.
