IUF members denounce ‘Miss Curvy’ Uganda beauty contest tourism promotion

IUF members around the world are calling on the government of Uganda to cancel a plan to promote Uganda’s tourist industry with a “Miss Curvy” beauty contest as well as add “sexy” women to official literature listing Uganda’s “attractions”.

The IUF-affiliated Uganda Hotels, Food, Tourism, Supermarkets and Allied Workers’ Union (HTS-Union) has condemned the plan and urged the government to shelve the proposals, which encourage sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls at home while Ugandan women are being trafficked abroad, often for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.

The proposals seriously undermine the current discussions at the ILO on the adoption of international standards to end violence and harassment in the world of work. The African group of governments at the ILO, led by a representative of Uganda, has been supportive of these new standards.