Burqa

Like many foreigners, I felt magnetized by the burqa. I could not understand how Afghan women could walk in it without problems. I kept asking men silly questions, like how they can recognize their wives, how they can get married if they have never seen the face of their future wife, how they can fall in love with a girl they had never seen. Once I had to wear burqa too. We were five in a car; three Afghan women, myself and a driver. We were approaching a small town where a bazaar was in full swing. The driver gave the order, “Everyone put burqas on!” I was the last one who put it on. I was fighting with this unfamiliar piece of clothing – I couldn’t find the front and couldn’t the find the top. The ladies tried to help me - more hands were touching this blue monster and making it more difficult to put on. Finally, as we were already on street full of men, we managed it. I was under the blue burqa. There was just one mistake - I wore it inside out. The burqa was an obligatory part of women's clothing during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. After the overthrow of the fundamentalist regime, burqas mainly disappeared in towns and were replaced by scarves. The Taliban, however, failed to be completely eradicated. They still pose a great danger, and recently they are more visible. Unfortunately, the burqa therefore, in some places, is again returning to the streets.