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The intent was to encourage dialogue about oppression and individual freedom, “so people can express themselves as they choose, without threat of being flogged, stoned or beheaded.”

It was all too much for the parade organizers.

Vancouver Pride Society’s co-executive director Andrea Arnot said in an interview that organizers thought Cirque de So Gay made light of a nuanced issue.

“Many women choose to wear burkas. It’s part of their identity, their religion and their culture,” she said. “Of course, there are places where it’s enforced.”

Arnot says organizers found its proposal “quite shocking.”

“When I asked other people who are from that cultural or religious background, they said it was offensive,” she said. “I definitely wanted to be sensitive to what is happening in our communities right now.”

Yet, what Cirque de So Gay proposed was exactly what it did at the 2011 Vancouver Pride Parade — dancers threw off their body and face coverings to reveal very little underneath.

Photo by Submitted / PNG

So, what’s changed? Nothing and almost everything.

Not much in countries like Iran where theocratic governments require women to dress in certain ways whether it’s the full-coverage burka, the face-covering (with eyes showing) niqab or a hijab head scarf, with face showing.

That’s despite growing protests such as #WhiteWednesdays in Iran where women replace their usual black hijabs for white ones. It’s an extension of the My Stealthy Freedom movement that began after Iranian exile Masih Alinejad posted a photo of herself outside with her hair uncovered.