Barakzai may hate the burqa but she admits it has its uses, such as hiding expensive jewelry from view of potential muggers or modern clothes that may provoke comments, stares and nasty jibes.
“Whichever dress you are wearing, your make-up and your hair — it is all covered, it is an easy solution,” says the modern young woman.
As a symbol closely associated with Afghanistan, it is perhaps inevitable that the garment has become visitors' choice for a gift for people back home that is sometimes meant as a joke but also gives insight into what is an outrageous concept in the West.
One said he brought one for his girlfriend in Britain to pretend to “admonish her for having too good a time while I was away in Afghanistan.”
“It was supposed to annoy her, to make her mad at me, after which I would give her a real gift, and win her over. Funny thing is, she wasn't at all annoyed with the burqa. She immediately tried it on and was shocked at how difficult it is to breathe and see through,” he said.
And while the burqa may not be the new black, it has made it onto the catwalk, causing a stir at Afghanistan's first fashion show held last month.
The white silk and embroidered piece was intended to acknowledge an item so integral to Afghan fashion and give it a more positive look, says designer Zolaykha Sherzad, from the design house that put on the show.
“During the Taliban it was a way to oppress women but it has also given women a certain freedom,” she says.
“It protects you from the dust, from view, all sorts of things. At the same time it helps you to be free, you can really be who you are without worrying what people will say,” she says.
The element of disguise is something she also sees in the West, she says. “I see more and more women wearing dark glasses — it is a way to hide. They can't see you but you can see them.”
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