An English actor and author has tweeted about women wearing burqas in the Western world, and it’s a poetic piece of work.

Stephen McGann shared the 18 tweets to his handle @stephenmcgann on Tuesday, of his experience with women in facial coverings, in an undisclosed Gulf state.

It’s a bit of a read, but well worth the time.

THREAD: When I see a Burqa, I never think of a letterbox, or a bank robber. I think of a young woman. Standing on a beach in South Wales. Alone. Far from home. Thinking. Feeling. /1

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— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

I was selected because actors, though deficient in many skills important to finance, are mercifully considered knowledgeable in the art of humans communicating with humans – a facility, unsurprisingly, valued by intelligent companies. /3

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

Now, I was told that one of these days would be for women staff only. The women would mostly be wearing Niqab; a form of black veil that Boris Johnson disparagingly called a ‘letterbox’ – only their eyes visible. /5

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

As it happens, it was by far my favourite day of the whole week, and a lesson for my whole life. These women were just fantastic! Friendly – gossipy – ribald – thoughtful – hilarious at times. /7

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

One of the exercises involved personal disclosure – sharing a part of one’s own life experiences with the group to encourage deeper communication. Significant moments, places where one had felt most happy. /9

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

She told us that she’d been a student at Swansea University in the UK. She’d loved it, and my British voice had brought back touching memories for her of that time. Her favourite place had been by the beach. /11

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

We all listened, moved. We could see it all, and we could see all of her. /13

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

We live in a world full of our own veils. Presentations of the self that each of us makes to others in order to communicate some important aspect of ourselves. Religious. Political. Tattoos on the skin. /15

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

Sometimes these are social. Sometimes a signal. An aspiration, or a mark of belonging. But underneath that paper-thin carapace lies a commonality of character and feeling. A story worth telling. /17

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018

And he elegantly finished-

The veil is not the story. It never was. The story is the young woman. Standing on that beach in South Wales. Alone. Far from home. Thinking. Feeling. Everything important communicated. /end.

— Stephen McGann (@StephenMcGann) August 7, 2018