Hind Bensari (MA)

The title: Burqanista

Would you be less bothered by the Burqa if it were colourful? Or does its colourful aspect bother you more?

In its most common form, the burqa is black, a neutral modest colour which supposedly does not attract attention. But in Afghanistan that standard colour is light blue, in Algeria, the traditional Hayek is white, in Israel Haredi orthodox Jews also wear a black burqa, others wear a brown or beige across the Middle East.

So who gets to decide what colour the burqa is? How many get to decide on the standardised colour? Is it religious in its form or colour?

In this almost cartoonish representation of the burqa, I reflect on the place of freedom of choice in standardised societal norms, both in the “East” and the “West”, two parts of the world which are inherently and extricably part of who I am.