What does the burqa symbolize in A Thousand Splendid Suns? And what are some spots in the book that really show this?

In the book A Thousand Splendid Sons
the burqa has not been worn by Mariam until she marries.  Her husband lets
her know once she is his wife that she may no longer go out in public because he does
not want other men looking at what his wife has because it belongs to
him.

Mariam has a difficult transition wearing the burqa
because she can not see when she walks and i makes her trip.  Her husband uses the burqa
as a form of control and demonstration of ownership.

Later
he marries a second wife and she is taken told she has to wear the burqa.  Laila had
always been raised to be a strong willed woman and the burqa is the husband's way of
once again controlling his wife and possessing her.

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"Oh,I also ask that when we are out together,
that you wear a
burqa."(223)

For
both women the burqa is a sign of imprisonment.  At first Mariam thinks it is her
husband's way of demonstrating that she is his and that he values her, but later she
realizes he is looking at naked women's pictures and that he is a
hypocrite.

To Laila the burqa gives her freedom in a
different way.  It allows her to hide from others so that they will not see her sadness
and embarrassment at being married to Rasheed.  She is also able to look around where
otherwise her eyes would not be able to look.  She does not like it and feels imprisoned
but she uses it too enable herself to hide from the
world.

When the Taliban takes over the country the burqa
becomes an imprisonment for women.  It is an indication that they have no rights and do
not want them to be seen or heard.

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"Attention women: You will stay in your homes at
all times.

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"You will not, under any circumstances show your
face.  You will cover with the burqa when outside.  If you do not, you will be
severlybeaten."(278)