Unveiling the History of the Burqa
Brishkay Ahmed :
Unveiling the History of the Burqa
By Bureen Ruffin Brishkay Ahmed , center , is the filmmaker behind the documentary , Story of Burqa : Case of a Confused Afghan . (“ Burqas and the Confused Afghan ,” Photo : Meghan Mcadam )
Across the globe the burqa is ubiquitous : in the markets of Kabul , on the streets of New York City , on the runways of Givenchy , and in pop music videos . It is increasingly at the center of heated debates in the East and West , but little is known about the burqa ’ s origin and history , particularly in the West . Canada was recently the latest in a number of countries embroiled in a battle to restrict or ban the controversial garment .
In her documentary film Story of Burqa : Case of a Confused Afghan , Brishkay Ahmed , an Afghan- Canadian filmmaker , takes on the enormous task of uncovering the story of how the burqa came to be associated with Afghanistan and its role in the lives of Afghan women and girls .
Ahmed and her camera crew take the viewer on a journey through the alleyways and past the stalls of the Kabul markets , where burqas are made , sold , and worn . By her own admission , Ahmed ’ s Dari ( a dialect of Persian spoken in Afghanistan ) is poor ; still , she unflinchingly interrogates her sources — shoppers , tailors , politicians , women , and intellectuals — for answers .
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