Inside the burqa...

My friend nudged me one day…

Look at the girl across the seat

Look at what she is doing

Look at how she is opening her clothes

Look at what she is wearing underneath

Look at how she dazzles in them

Look at how she tricked her parents

Look at how she told such lies

Look at how she sneaked out of her home

Look at how she has two lives

Look at how none of them are true

Look at her

But don’t look like you are looking at her

So saying my friend left

Not staring too much at the girl, lest she would feel uncomfortable

I knew her plight, poor girl - she has desires too

She is not like me

She is not free

She is bound by her fate

She is caught in a vicious circle

She can’t escape her truths

I looked out of the window and wondered about other things…

The girl suddenly came to life and said

I know you were talking about me

I work for a shopping mall

This is my uniform

My neighbourhood is a little conservative, you know

20^th September 2003