Beyond the burqa

Whatever the subject matter, the one theme that runs through all these essays is that of being "othered", of being seen as something exotic and foreign, as someone who doesn't really belong

It’s Not About the Burqa
 

Mariam Khan (ed)
 

Picador
 

256 pages, Rs 699

Mariam Khan, the editor of this selection of essays by Muslim women of colour who live in the West, sets the tone of this book in her introduction. “Muslim women are more than burqas, more than hijabs, and more than society has allowed us to be until now,” she writes. “We are not asking for permission any more. We are taking up space. We’ve listened to a lot of people talking about who Muslim women are without actually hearing Muslim women. So now, we are speaking. And