Afghan-American Artist Behnaz Babazadeh Evokes New Ways Of Viewing The Burka

Words by: Timi Sotire

In the West, the ‘woman in the veil’ has been discursively constructed as being perpetually oppressed by patriarchal forces. It is assumed that, because she is fully clothed, then she is a victim, that men must be forcing her to wear the veil. She is stripped of her agency, placed into an object status, and viewed as a monolithic subject. This is juxtaposed with the Western woman, who is modern, has control over her body and is empowered enough to make her own decisions. Through this homogenous notion of the oppression of the ‘woman in the veil’, Western culture is perceived superior other cultures around the world.

Behnaz Babazadeh is an Afghan-born artist who moved to North America as a child, and from a young age was made aware of how her cultural garments were perceived in the West. She soon realised that the burka, which for centuries has been one of many local fashions among Afghan women, is seen as a destructive tool of subjugation in her new Western home. Modern-day interpretations of the burka, from both the West and the Taliban, have replaced the original significance of the garment. As an adult, Babazadeh’s work challenges the ethnocentric universality of the West, and she aims to shine a light to how the burka is misrepresented. Two examples of her work are ‘Candy Series’ and ‘Burka Diaries’, collections designed to critique the assumption that burkas are a threatening and ominous symbol of oppression.

““The veil is simply a piece of fabric. It’s just as comforting as a hat, and just as protective as an umbrella.”- Behnaz Babazade”

‘Candy Series’ captures various USA-branded candies thatare used as materials from which to construct ‘edible burkas’ that allude to a source of comfort and nostalgia for the average viewer. Growing up in America, Babazadeh loved candy, and wanted to use a material that she knew evoked happy emotions and thoughts. ‘Burka Diaries’ depicts a woman in the traditional blue burka of Afghanistan in ordinary American settings. This piece aims to normalise the burka, to remind viewers that it is indeed just a piece of clothing, whilst simultaneously showcasing how women in burkas are not victims: they are free to do their own thing, unbothered and undisturbed.

Babazadeh’s art is important in a society that is plagued by Islamophobia, particularly as it intersects with gender discrimination in how we view women who wear the veil. In a country where our Prime Minister publicly compared women wearing burkas to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers”, the need to no longer view other parts of the world through Eurocentric assumptions has never been more important. Babazedh’s work is changing the discussion surrounding the burka and opening the conversation between the East and West. The burka is really just a piece of fabric, and Babazedh’s art allows us to see it as an object of beauty, not one of violence and oppression.

Words by: Timi Sotire