Beneath the veil

Had a really interesting experience today - sat in on an English language class for Bengali women who haven't been in the country long. It was great fun. They were all wearing brightly coloured scarves covering their hair. One woman was particularly loud and funny with a terrific smile. When it got to the end of the class, she pinned a black veil over her face so only her eyes were showing. It turned out she'd taken the extra veil off because it was an all-female group. If I'd met her on the street all I would have seen would be her eyes peeping out through a slit.