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Vancouver Pride Parade Rejected Group That Wanted To March In Burkas

The burka is "a tool to impose absolute control and authority,” says Cirque de so Gay.

By all accounts the Vancouver Pride parade on August 6 was a roaring success, drawing hundreds of thousands, including Arrow star Stephen Amell and the cast of Sense8.

But one group is angry that organizers denied their petition to join the procession: Cirque de So Gay, a group of gay and trans men of Middle Eastern descent, submitted an application describing its float, which would have participants wearing burkas with little on underneath. It was a symbolic gesture, the group explains, “casting off the shroud of oppression to unveil the Persian princess beneath.”

“The Islamic attire is more than just a piece of black fabric,” the description detailed. “It’s a tool used by governments to impose absolute control and authority over their citizens and even tourists.”

AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI

A participant wears a rainbow-colored burka as she solidarizes with muslim lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people during a gay pride parade in Warsaw on June 15, 2013. AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI (Photo credit should read JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Cirque de So Gay has marched in the Vancouver Pride parade wearing burkas before—and even won an award for originality—but this year its design was rejected for being “culturally insensitive.”

Co-founder Shawn Shirazi says Vancouver Pride is being hypocritical. It’s true that the Sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence appear at Pride parades worldwide wearing a pastiche of nuns' habits.

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

VANCOUVER, BC - AUGUST 3: A parade participant carries a sign during the Vancouver Pride Parade August 3, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The annual event draws more than 650,000 people and is regarded as one of the largest LGBTQ events in the world. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

But Vancouver Pride Society’s director Andrea Arnot says Cirque de So Gay was making light of a complex issue and mocking a marginalized group. In January, a gunman opened fire at a mosque in Quebec City, killing six and wounding 19 more.

“Many women choose to wear burkas,” Arnot explained. “It’s part of their identity, their religion and their culture,” she said. “Of course, there are places where it’s enforced. When I asked other people who are from that cultural or religious background, they said it was offensive.”

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

VANCOUVER, BC - AUGUST 3: A man sprays water at onlookers during the Vancouver Pride Parade August 3, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The annual event draws more than 650,000 people and is regarded as one of the largest LGBTQ events in the world. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

The society also addressed demands by Black Lives Matter members, who wanted to bar police from marching in the 39th annual event. In a compromise, organizers allowed police and RCMP to march, but asked that fewer officers wear their uniforms and barred patrol cars and armored vehicles.

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