24 June 2009#20

Oxford Street, London, 29th July 2006

I’m not one to normally get involved in political matters but recently in the news the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against Muslim women wearing the burka in France, even calling on it to be banned in public. A case in this country was heard five years ago when a court upheld the ruling that  Muslim schoolgirl Shabina Begum be banned from wearing an Islamic gown to lessons, arguing that schools were allowed to enforce their own dress code. Just as Muslim women in Islamic countries are restricted in the way they dress, it’s likely that any laws or rules that stop someone from dressing how they like will only result in people protesting against it in some form.

I like the way the womans head in this shot has been framed by the blue backdrop in the window display but more interestingly is the fact that underneath her Islamic gown you can spot she is wearing that most western of clothing items, a pair of jeans.