PURDAH

Purdah, from the Persian word for curtain, pardah, refers to the custom of veiling and secluding women in Islamic societies. The Arabic term is hijab. The custom derives from references in the Qur?an to speaking with women from behind a curtain (33:53) and to hadith enjoining modest behavior for Muslims of both sexes. Purdah is observed in a variety of ways, all of them involving some form of sexual segregation. In its most extreme form, women are confined to their homes; alternatively, it involves male social interaction and schooling with other males and similarly segregated social activities and schooling for females. Usually, purdah involves various forms of modest dress in order to keep women from being seen by unrelated males. These range from all-enveloping garments to scarves that cover the hair.

While the custom is associated with the religion of Islam, purdah is also a form of cultural and political symbolism. During the period of rapid modernization in the early twentieth century, many middle-class, urban Muslim women gave up the veil. In more recent times, movements of cultural pride and religious reassertion have prompted many Muslim women to don it again. Purdah observation varies according to region, culture, and class. In Iran, the chador became the emblem of the Islamic revolution, symbolic of the rejection of the West and of westernization. In Afghanistan, the allenveloping burqa was required by the Taliban government, though it also provided symbolic protection for women in politically unstable situations. In Pakistan and India, Muslim women wear a variety of veil forms: the chaddar—a large shawl that hides the feminine form, the burqa—a coatlike garment with an adjustable head piece, the dupatta—a sheer stole that adorns the shoulders, but can be put over the hair when necessary.

Controversy exists over the meaning of renewed purdah observance in recent times. It can be seen as the oppressive imposition of social segregation upon women, or as a matter of choice, in which the use of the veil expresses a woman's faith and cultural identity. Indicative of this latter phenomenon is the fact that wearing a head scarf is becoming more common as Muslims migrate to non-Muslim countries.

See alsoGender ; Harem ; Veiling .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Papanek, Hanna. "Purdah: Separate Worlds and Symbolic Shelter." Comparative Studies in Society and History 15, no. 3 (1973): 289–325.

Shirazi, Faegheh. The Veil Unveiled: Hijab in Modern Culture. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001.

Zuhur, Sherifa. Revealing Reveiling: Islamist Gender Ideology inContemporary Egypt. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.

Gail Minault