Tell Cipriani and NY Consulates Not to Host Fashion Show by Dictator's Daughter

She's been called "the single most hated person" in her country and one of the "world's worst daughters" for her ruthless use of political connections to crush business competitors and personal enemies. Gulnara Karimova is the daughter of the dictator of Uzbekistan who rules what the US Department of State classifies as an "authoritarian state." While she might not be popular among many, she is an official representative of the government of Uzbekistan as the country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva and the Ambassador to Spain. Recently, her connection to human rights abuses has gotten in the way of her aspiring career as a fashion designer.

Karimova was scheduled to present her GULI collection this Thursday at New York Fashion Week, but when one of the event organizers, IMG, learned of her close relationship with a government accused of a broad range of abuses from torture to forced child labor, it decided to cancel her show.

The cancellation of Gulnara's show was welcomed by human rights organizations. Steve Swerdlow of Human Rights Watch said, "Enslaving children and torturing dissidents is never chic. We’re glad Fashion Week will not showcase a designer who represents such a repressive government. They’re sending the message that abusers shouldn’t be allowed to launder their image at the expense of human rights."

The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) also welcomed the announcement while noting that the issue of forced child labor in the country's cotton industry continues despite the cancellation of Gulnara's show. Reports indicate that young people are being removed from schools across Uzbekistan right now as part of a state policy that forces children to pick cotton during the harvest season to meet government-imposed production quotas. ILRF and AFT are organizing a rally and fashion show on Thursday at New York Fashion Week to call on the fashion industry to do more to stop forced child labor in cotton.

Now, it appears that Gulnara isn't taking the hint from the fashion world. The New York Post reports that she's reaching out to Cipriani, a restaurant chain in New York City, to host her cancelled show as well as to the consulates of friendly nations as a back up plan. If these venues didn't get it the first time Gulnara's show got nixed, let's send a clear message that human rights abuses are out of style. Take a minute on Change.org to tell Cipriani and the consulates of Russia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates not to host Gulnara's fashion show in New York.

Photo credit: CottonCampaign.org