The burqa, the long and flowing dark cloth covering women of the Islamic faith, has become a symbol of oppression, of latent fear, of submission, of unimaginable abuse. Even I, a Muslim woman, cannot look at it without cringing, without wondering what really goes on in the homes of these covered women whose eyes are our only access point to the mystery within. Is there really a mystery underneath the imposing veil covering their physique from head to toe? Or are we the imposers – putting our understanding of how women should or should not be as the basis for our judgement of their culture and lifestyles?

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