Last April, the French Government passed a law banning the public wearing of the burqa – the full-faced covering of Muslim women. Ampannee Satoh, a Thai student of photography in France, felt oppressed by such a law and decided to show her disagreement by ordering several custom-made burqas of many colours from her home town of Yarang, Pattani and pose in them in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and other landmarks, letting the colourful burqas float on the wind and dance in the sunshine. Thus she hopes to show the freedom taken away from a Muslim women like herself by the burqa ban.

Whether we agree or disagree with the French Government’s Burqa Ban, we cannot deny the eye-catching appeal of this series of thought provoking photographs, ‘Burqa’ - 2010

Ampannee Satoh, 28, graduated in photography from Rangsit University and École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, France. She teaches photography at Rangsit University.