Waris Ahluwalia is an internationally renowned actor, model and designer. He has been the face of Gap, worked with Wes Anderson, Spike Lee and Deepa Mehta, and is on the list of Vogue’s ‘10 Most Impactful People’.
Earlier this year, Waris was returning home to NYC from Mexico City, when Aeroméxico staff asked him to remove his turban. Waris pointed out that body scanners made this superfluous but the airline would not budge. Nor would they provide him with the private room he requested to take his turban off (which, he explained to them, as a Sikh he could not remove in public). He was prevented from boarding the flight.
“Dear NYC fashion week. I may be a little late as @aeromexico won’t let me fly with a turban.” He tweeted.
As news channels picked up on the story, rather than blow off some celebrity steam, Waris offered to speak to Aeroméxico staff about religious sensitivity. His actions and his hashtag #fearisanopportunitytoeducate inspired many, and showed grace in the face of prejudice, resulting in Aeroméxico updating their training programme.
Join us for a 90-minute talk with an iconoclast who manages to infuse the glamorous worlds of fashion and film with an unwavering commitment to creating a more thoughtful way of living.
Photo credit: Vijat Mohindra