Michael m

In the first image, you see an Australian MP wearing a burqa in Parliament to debate banning the burqa for women. In the second image, it’s me and my friend, two women who have actually lived under the reality of forced burqas and hijabs imposed by the Taliban and the Islamic Republic appearing in an American TV. Now I learned that the debate on Banning the burqa wasn’t even allowed onto the floor of the Australian Senate. I understand these issues can feel politically risky. But let’s be honest: for us women of Iran and Afghanistan who lived under forced hijab and burqa, this is not an abstract political debate, it is the reality we survived. We were suffocated by it. I was beaten by Iran’s morality police for showing my hair. Afghan and Iranian girls have been lashed, even killed, just for talking about their rights. And even thousands of miles away, we face assassination plots for the “crime” of asking for a debate on forced hijab. This isn’t culture. It’s oppression, exported globally. What some call “culture,” we recognize as gender apartheid enforced by the Taliban and the Islamic Republic. This is why I want to extend an invitation to you @PaulineHansonOz, @SenatorPayman, and members of the Australian Parliament: Open your Parliament to those of us who lived under forced hijab and burqa. Let Afghan and Iranian women share the truth directly with you, to offer a clearer and more human understanding of what millions of women face today. Australia has a proud democratic tradition of hearing voices, not silencing discussion. Including us would honour that tradition. We don’t ask to be spoken about. We ask to be heard.