Today I had the rare opportunity to try on a burqa and try to understand the reality many Afghan women live every day. As a tourist I'm still in a very privileged position to be able to just try on the burqa instead of having to wear it every day. The burqa is heavy, and because a headscarf is worn underneath, it gets quite warm. Surprisingly, you can still see relatively well through the mesh screen in front of the eyes. But what stays with me most is not the fabric itself, it is what the burqa represents. What you see in the media is true, but it is still far from the whole story. There are many nuances to what women currently wear in Afghanistan. You will see different styles of hijabs, dresses, abayas and burqas, including different shades of blue burqas depending on the region, traditions and level of conservatism. The blue burqa is more commonly seen in rural areas and conservative provinces such as Kandahar. These areas are generally more conservative and under stronger Taliban influence, which creates more pressure and fear for women to fully cover themselves. In Kabul, the situation can look different. Some women wear only a loose headscarf, while others still choose or feel pressured to wear the burqa. The burqa itself existed in Afghanistan long before the Taliban, especially in conservative rural communities. But during the Taliban’s first rule in the 1990s, strict dress codes were enforced on women across the country, making full-body coverings far more widespread and often mandatory in public. Before decades of war and extremism, Afghanistan looked very different. In cities like Kabul, women studied at universities, worked as doctors and teachers, and wore skirts, dresses or simple headscarves freely. For many women today, the burqa is no longer just clothing. It is about fear, pressure and survival. Behind the blue fabric are women whose voices, dreams and freedoms are slowly being erased from public life. • • #afghanistan #afghanistantravel #solofemaletraveler #solotravel #afghanistan🇦🇫 - @annika.theresa.h