Pakistani Runway Defy Taliban EVENTS, MAIN, RUNWAY 11.10.09Written By Ben

Last week, many designers, fashionistas, and models stood up to the Taliban by attending the symbolic four-day Pakistani fashion week. This event had been previously postponed twice due to fears of such event would cause conflict with the Taliban.

Victory came as a cultural statement that there is more to Pakistan than violence. “This is our gesture of deviance to the Taliban,” stated Ayesha Tammy Haq, the CEO of Fashion Pakistan Week. “There is a terrible problem of militancy and political upheaval… but that doesn’t mean that the country shuts down. That doesn’t mean that business comes to a halt.”

The fashion industry currently employs hundreds of thousands in Pakistan, and 60 percent of Pakistan textile exports are valued at $12 billion dollars a year.

Source: Telegraph