 SEP
4 - Organizers of India's premier fashion week refused
to let an Afghan beauty queen take part in a show
inspired by her life as she did not have a work permit,
a report said on Sunday.
Vida Samadzai was lead model for Bangalore-based
designer Deepika Govind's show on Saturday, the United
News of India (UNI) news agency reported.
Minutes before she was to appear on the catwalk,
Samadzai was stopped by a fashion show official who said
she did not have the necessary work permit, the report
said.
Samadzai, born and raised in Kabul, emigrated to the
United States in 1996 and now holds American
citizenship.
The model, who traveled to India on a business visa that
expires in November, had sent a letter to the Fashion
Design Council of India seeking permission to take part
in Govind's show.
"I don't know why I was not allowed to walk. No money
was exchanged," Samadzai, Afghanistan's unofficial
representative at the Miss Earth contest in Manila in
2003, was quoted as saying.
Govind, who was inspired by Samadzai's life, said she
had also sought permission for the model to work for her
because "she represented the courage and spirit I
believe in".
But FDCI chief Rathi Vinay Jha stood firm.
"You know that the permission of the Indian government
is needed for a foreign model or choreographer to work
on a ramp.
"Why should she (Samadzai) be allowed to walk without a
work permit?"
Samadzai, however, made a brief appearance at the end of
the show, coming out on the ramp with Govind to
acknowledge an ovation from the audience. |
