[MAGHAREBIA] Young Algerian women determined to replace the hijab and niqab staged a rally in Algiers.
"We want to sweep away these clothes which come from Saudi Arabia -- black, sad and stifling under the sun -- to return to our traditional haik, which is the pride of Algerian women," one participant told AFP at the March 21st rally.
| The haik appears to be a long length of white cloth that eventually wraps the torso, the body, the head, and the entire walking bundle with more swathings of fabric, hinting in the end that somewhere inside a female must be peering out, though the person in question cannot be seen. The Saudi veil, while black and sad, is a good deal more efficient and conducive to mobility, as far as I can tell, though one couldn't use it afterward as a tent to shelter the entire extended family. |
"The hijab and the niqab are not part of our tradition," another participant told AFP, adding that the haik could "enhance today's woman with all its lightness and elegance".
| For a given definition of both terms that cannot be found in any sane dictionary. |
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