Entertainment
Lily Cole apologises for ‘incredibly ill timed’ photo of her wearing a burka as Taliban took control of Afghanistan
Lily has apologised for her post (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for NETFLIX)
Lily Cole has apologised after posting pictures of herself wearing a burka, at the same time the Taliban took control of Kabul in Afghanistan.
The 33-year-old model is currently promoting her new book Who Care Wins: Reasons For Optimism in Our Changing World, and over the weekend, she posted a picture of herself wearing a blue burka to Instagram.
One picture saw Lily’s face exposed and the veil pulled back, while in another, her whole body was covered by the veil.
She captioned the now-deleted post: ‘Let’s embrace diversity on every level: biodiversity; cultural diversity; diversity of thinking; diversity of voices; diversity of ideas.’
Lily’s post came as Afghanistan’s government collapsed and militant group the Taliban claimed victory from inside the Presidential Palace, leading to thousands of Afghans attempting to flee the country.
During Taliban rule in Afghanistan, women were forced to wear coverings known as a chadaree, which is similar to a burka but which leaves a small opening for the eyes, from head to toe while in public.
Lily posted the picture to promote her book (Picture: Instagram)
Women were also not allowed to work or attend schools and not allowed to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.
The timing of Lily’s post caused backlash in the comments and on social media, with many people accusing the model of ‘white privilege’.
Journalist Janice Turner tweeted: ‘Lily Cole & 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.’
Lily had initially defended the pictures, saying she was not referring to ‘forcing people to wear or do something’, and: ’To my mind, diversity = choice’ in response to a comment which explained the Taliban would force women to wear the veil.
However, she later deleted the post and issued a ‘sincere apology’.
Taliban fighters took control of Kabul (Picture: AP)
The mother-of-one wrote on her Instagram stories: ‘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.’
Lily shared articles on how people can help in Afghanistan, and fundraisers for organisations like the women-run news organisation Rukshana Media.
More: Taliban
The model recently came out as queer while promoting her book, explaining that she likes the ‘openness’ of the label.
Lily, who has been with her partner Kwame Ferreira for nine years, told the Sunday Times: ‘I have lots of friends who identify as bisexual, lesbian or whatever, who also identify as queer. I’ve always been quite private about my private life, consciously, and I want to continue to be, so I don’t feel the need to be explicit.
‘At the same time I feel the need to acknowledge that I am not straight.’
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