The OCAD show also includes multimedia exhibits such as the imagery by grad student Mariam Magsi that focuses on women in burkas, the full-cover veil worn by some Muslim women.
Purdah gets featured in The Toronto Star by immigration reporter, Nicholas Keung-:
“Magsi, who grew up in Pakistan with a mother who loved photography, said she was fascinated by women wearing the burqa.
“I love travel photography. The scene that I couldn’t get out of mind was a family of women in burqas walking on an unpaved road, carrying grocery bags in hand. What drew me to them was the rhinestones on their shoes and embroideries on their burkas. That’s the way they expressed themselves,” she recalled.
“Here in Canada, we have so much hatred against the people who wear identity markers like burqas and hijabs.”
During her research, not only did Magsi discover from her family that her own maternal great grandmother was a burqa-wearing matriarch, but she travelled to Pakistan, Morocco, Dubai and across Canada to photograph and interview women in burkas.
The result was her photography collection called “Purdah,” which means “to veil, to wear enveloping clothing” in Persian and Urdu.
“Photography has the power for social change and it can shift perceptions,” said the Karachi native, 31, adding that she hopes the storytelling and images can inspire viewers to question their own assumptions and biases against women in burqas.”
To read the full article, please visit the following link-:
https://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2017/04/27/asian-ocad-students-mock-resum-forces-others-to-see-who-i-am.html
