During times of conflict with Islamic regimes, such as the recent war in Afghanistan, Western journalists and politicians tend to use the burqua (or veil) worn by some Muslim women as a symbol of oppression. They seem to suggest that, once these women have been freed from oppressive Islamic rule, they will immediately cast off their veils and rejoice in wearing the latest fashions of the West. In reality, however, this has not been the case.

In Women of Islam: Veiling and Seclusion, director Farheen Umar travels throughout Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and the USA to talk with Muslim women and challenge the assumptions about the practice of wearing veils. This landmark documentary explores the origins of these stereotypes and confronts misconceptions about the tradition of covering in Muslim society.

This film is available with a Digital Site License (DSL), which allows colleges, universities, or libraries to encode, locally host, and stream the film to their community on a closed, password-protected system.

Rental Information
This film is available from AFD for public screenings and television broadcast. For information regarding rental rates and formats, please contact [email protected] for institutional/non-theatrical screenings, or [email protected] for theatrical, festival, television, or other bookings.