From The Telegraph (UK)
by Shelina Janmohamed
When it comes to Muslim women, it’s still all about what we wear – and the last 12 months only serves to confirm this sad state of affairs. What we say, our achievements, opinions and self-determination continue to be brushed aside. Even as women’s movements around the world continue to gather momentum, Muslim women’s looks, clothing and bodies continue ever forcefully to be policed. We continue to be reduced to one-dimensional voiceless images.
A striking photo of Malalai Kakar dressed in a powder blue Afghan burqa was hijacked by Britain First’s campaign to ‘Ban the Burqa’.
Kakar, a mother of six from southern Kandahar city, was the first female graduate of the regional police academy. She was Afghanistan’s first female police officer, a powerful symbol of what women can achieve in the face of brutal gender oppression.
Photographer Lana Slezic claims that Britain First has used this image of Afghanistan’s first female police officer in their anti-burqa campaign without her permission
Kakar was killed by the Taliban in 2008. When Kakar’s photographer saw the campaign this year she contacted Britain first to say this was not her legacy, if anything Kakar was a symbol of empowerment, and wearing the burka was something she chose to do. Kakar had said: “I am not forced to wear the chaudari [burqa], my husband or the police force does not require it. I want to wear it because it gives me advantages.” Whatever we might think of Kakar’s choices, the important thing was that they were her choices, and what she wore did not define her achievements. Britain First, like so many public voices chose to silence her even in death. Furthermore, Australia’s Jacquie Lambie used the image and claimed – despite Kakar’s quote – that this strong woman would have supported the ban on the burqa.
