Purdah

Pardah (from Persian: پرده‎, meaning "curtain") or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu پردہ), is a religious and social practice of gender partition prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: social partition of the sexes and the requirement that women cover their bodies so as to cover their skin and conceal their form. A woman who practices purdah can be referred to as pardanashin or purdahnishan. The term purdah is also used to describe related practices, such as the pre-election period of sensitivity occurring in the weeks leading up to a general election or referendum.

Quotes

• The real place of women is the house and she has been exempted from outdoor duties…She has however been allowed to go out of the house to fulfil her genuine needs, but whilst going out she must observe complete modesty. Neither should she wear glamorous clothes and attract attention, nor should she cherish the desire to display the charms of the face and the hand, nor should she walk in a manner which may attract attention of others. Moreover she should not speak to them without necessity, and if she has to speak she should not speak in a sweet and soft voice.
  • Abul A'la Maududi, Purdah and the status of Women in Islam, 1991, p. 140, Taj Company Ltd, Lahore, Pakistan.

• Translation from Urdu:".. I asked them where has your veil gone/They said that it is covering the intellect of men. .."
  • Urdu: Poocha jo main ne aap ka purdah woh kya hua/Kehne lagein ke aql pe mardon ke parh gaya
  • Akbar Ilahabadi, Times of India article news refers to speech of Jeelani Bano where in she mentions this couplet, hence notable.; Complete Urdu couplet at Rekhta.org (Devnagari script)

• But far from achieving the purpose, purdah has adversely affected the mortals of Muslim men. Owing to purdah, a Muslim man has no contact with any woman outside those who belong to his own household. Even with them, his contact extends only to occasional conversation...
  For a male, there is no company of, and no commingling with, the females, except those who are children or aged. This isolation of the males from females is sure to produce bad effects on the morals of men. It requires no psychoanalyst to say that a social system which cuts off all contacts between the two sexes produces an unhealthy tendency towards sexual excesses and unnatural and other morbid habits and ways.
  • B.R. Ambedkar, quoted in : Democracy Under Siege: Ballot, Bullet And Blood. Shubham Tiwari And Shivam Raghuwanshi. Garuda Prakashan. 2022. Pages 250. Rs 399.