Time to unveil

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Aug 16, 2009 at 14:19

Applause to Fadela Amara for standing up and rejecting the burqa. Would that more women, and more leaders for that matter, do the same. The streets of Cairo are littered with women completely covered head to foot, including the wearing of black gloves in the height of summer. It looks silly. There are also coverings for the face that extend from the nose downward, sort of like an elephant trunk---this is draped in such a manner that a woman doesn't look like a woman anymore but resembles some creature from a bad dream---and the drab colours such as grey or brown really make a sad picture. It's bad enough to be forced to cover the head, but when the whole body is enveloped in such sexless contraptions then it takes the word "ridiculous" to another level. A quote from my former maid in Cairo who was Muslim: "Covering the head and the body is stupid. A person can't hide behind this--God can see right through to the heart."

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