Sunday, June 28, 2009

No sane, free person would choose to wear a burka


Interesting and informative reaction of a western non-Muslim woman upon donning a burka.

FROM CALGARYHERALD.COM:

No sane, free person would choose to wear a burka
By Licia Corbella, Calgary Herald June 27, 2009

A while back I was asked to give a talk at my kids' school about my December 2003 trip to Afghanistan.
As I waited to be introduced, I hid in an auditorium storage room wearing a burka I bought in that war-ravaged country, thinking I'd be out in a minute, maybe two. But the introduction took a lot longer than I had anticipated and by the time I came out to greet all those shining faces, I was very nearly hyperventilating from the oppression of it. I didn't time my self-imposed confinement to the burka, but I probably wore the suffocating tent-like garment with mesh over my eyes for no more than 10 minutes. I told the kids I felt like I was buried alive.

I also told them that while in Afghanistan, I asked all of the many women I met there whether they liked wearing a burka. Not one said yes. In fact, they all said they hated it almost as much as they hated the Taliban.

It's no wonder. The burka's toll on these women was harsh. Many had lost most of their teeth and hair as a result of not having enough vitamin D, which comes from the sun. During the time of Taliban rule--from September 1996 to November 2001 --no portion of their skin, save their hands, was ever allowed to be exposed to sunlight. Think about the horror of that. The Taliban insisted that homes with women in them had to blacken their windows, lest a man pollute his delicate sensibilities by gazing upon the uncovered face of a woman behind the glass.
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