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119-579: Practices that restricted women's mobility and behavior existed among religious groups in India since ancient times and intensified with the arrival of Islam. By the 19th century, purdah became customary among Hindu elites. Purdah was not traditionally observed by lower-class women. Physical segregation within buildings is achieved with judicious use of walls, curtains, and screens. A woman's withdrawal into purdah usually restricts her personal, social and economic activities outside her home. The usual purdah garment worn

238-401: A doli . The little stool slung from a pole that two men carried would be brought to our back door – the door to the zanana or the ladies' section – and the two carriers would step away behind the curtain wall. Ammi would wrap herself in a white sheet and squat on the flat stool, and a heavy custom-made cover would be thrown over her and the doli. The two bearers would then come back and carry

357-501: A paranja ( / ˈ p æ r ə n ˌ dʒ ɑː / ; Russian : паранджа́ ; Tatar : пәрәнҗә ) in Central Asia , the Arab version of the burqa is called the boshiya and is usually black. The term burqa is sometimes conflated with the niqāb even though, in more precise usage, the niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes uncovered, while a burqa covers the entire body from the top of

476-586: A social phenomenon within modern societies that feature, to some degree, an empirical separation between a domestic or private sphere and a public or social sphere . This observation may be controversial and is often also seen as supporting patriarchal ideologies that seek to create or strengthen any such separation between spheres and to confine women to the domestic/private sphere. The patriarchal ideology of separate spheres, based primarily on notions of biologically determined gender roles and/or patriarchal religious doctrine, claims that women should avoid

595-575: A ban on the sale, production and importation of burqas. The letters indicated that businesses were expected to clear their stock within 48 hours. The full Afghan chadaree covers the wearer's entire face except for a small region about the eyes, which is covered by a concealing net or grille. They are usually light blue in the Kabul area, white in the north in Mazar-i-Sharif and brown and green in Kandahar in

714-479: A bigger and heavier brain" and “a lion is stronger than a man” and yet neither of them dominates men. Burqa A burqa or a burka ( / ˈ b ɜːr k ə / ; Arabic : برقع ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree ( / ˈ tʃ æ d ( ə ) r iː / ; Pashto : چادري ) or chaadar ( Dari : چادر) in Afghanistan , or

833-451: A burqa vary. A woman may choose to wear it to express her piety, modesty, political views, and cultural views among other reasons. A woman may also wear a burqa on being forced to do so by law, as in the case of Saudi Arabia ( however by 2024 women aren't forced to wear hijab/abaya anymore), and in the case of Afghanistan during the first period of Taliban rule . In July 2015, Cameroon's Far North Region banned Islamic face veils, including

952-430: A covered wagon that was pushed by two men, just like their Muslim counterparts. (The school was exclusively for girls and had a very high wall surrounding it.) A different form of veiling, the ghoonghat , is found among some married Hindu women in rural North India. A fold of the sari is drawn over the face when the woman is in the presence of older male in-laws or in a place where there is likelihood of meeting them, e.g.

1071-509: A form of male domination in the public sphere, and an "eclipse of Muslim woman's identity and individuality". According to scholars such as Elizabeth White, "purdah is an accommodation to and a means of perpetuating the perceived differences between the sexes: the male being self-reliant and aggressive, the female weak, irresponsible, and in need of protection". Geraldine Books writes "in both cases [of spatial separation and veiling], women are expected to sacrifice their comfort and freedom to service

1190-565: A law requiring people to "stick to traditional national clothes and culture", which has been widely seen as an attempt to prevent women from wearing Islamic clothing, in particular the style of headscarf wrapped under the chin, in contrast to the traditional Tajik headscarf tied behind the head. In 2017, a legal ban on face-covering clothing in public spaces was adopted by the Austrian parliament including Islamic face-covering garments. The government stated that accepting and respecting Austrian values

1309-404: A much lesser value. Rosaldo argues a "universal asymmetry" between the sexes that primarily caused these separations to arise. This model mainly focuses on the generational subordination of women in relation to men throughout history and across different cultures, defining the domestic and public spheres in very black and white terms. This earlier model, has since been challenged by researchers in

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1428-529: A separate domestic sphere has appeared in Western thought for centuries, extending back to the ancient Greeks . In Politics , Aristotle described two separate spheres in Greek society, the home ( oikos ) and the city ( polis ). Some have interpreted his views as confining women to the private realm while men were supposed to occupy the public sphere of the polis . Each sphere intermingled in different ways with

1547-501: A sexual fetish, and as promiscuous as wearing too little. According to The Jerusalem Post , in 2010, Marina Solodkin , a member of the Knesset , intended to put forward a bill to "prohibit the wearing of a full-body and face covering for women. [The] bill would not differentiate between Muslims and Jews". In April 2019, face-covering clothing was banned in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of

1666-511: A six-month fact-finding mission to look at ways of restricting its use. On 26 January 2010, the commission reported that access to public services and public transport should be barred to those wearing the burqa. On 13 July 2010, the Assembly overwhelmingly approved a bill banning burqas and niqabs. On 14 September 2010, the French Senate overwhelmingly approved a ban on burqas in public, with

1785-457: A space for women's academic and professional advancement, the separation of spheres also provided an excuse for keeping women out of fields not specifically marked as female. Thus many talented women scientists were pushed into professorships in home economics rather than in their principal fields. Some women educators resisted this typecasting even while working within the framework of separation. Frances Shimer , founder of Shimer College , which

1904-459: A veil is not compulsory in front of blind men. The Salafi scholar Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani wrote a book expounding his view that the face veil is not a binding obligation upon Muslim women, while he was a teacher at Islamic University of Madinah . His opponents within the Saudi establishment ensured that his contract with the university was allowed to lapse without renewal. Reasons for wearing

2023-575: A veil that covers not only their head but also the entire face. Clement of Alexandria commends the contemporary use of face coverings. There are also two Biblical references to the employment of covering face veils in Genesis 38:14 and Genesis 24:65, by Tamar and by Rebeccah, Judah and Abraham's daughters-in-law respectively. These primary sources show that some women in Persia , Egypt , Arabia , and ancient Israel veiled their faces long before Islam. In

2142-448: A way to justify efforts to subjugate women and limit their mobility and freedom. However, others argue that these practices were always in place as local custom, but were later adopted by religious rhetoric to control female behavior. Proponents of the practice view purdah as a symbol of honor, respect, and dignity. It is seen as a practice that allows women to be judged by their inner beauty rather than physical beauty. In many societies,

2261-602: A way to protect the Muslim women from a hostile faction who had molested them on the streets of Medina, claiming that they confused them with slave girls. A sahih hadith (authentic tradition) elaborates the circumstances under which the verse was revealed and attributes it to Umar ibn al-Khattab for taunting one of Muhammad's wives while she was walking. The exact nature of garments referred to in these verses, khimar and jilbab , has been debated by traditional and modern scholars. Islamic scholars who hold that face veiling

2380-477: A woman's profession was also closely linked to the ideology of separate spheres, as women came to be regarded as uniquely skilled at classroom management . In coeducational universities in the late 19th century, the separation of spheres contributed to the emergence of home economics as a field of advanced study for the woman's sphere, and the dean of women as frequently the only high-ranking woman administrator in coeducational institutions. Although it created

2499-430: Is modesty for women, which includes minimizing the movement of women in public spaces and interactions of women with other males. The specific form varies widely based on religion, region, class, and culture. For instance, for some purdah might mean never leaving the home unless accompanied by a male relative, or limiting interactions to only other women and male relatives (for some Muslims) or avoiding all males outside of

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2618-669: Is a burqa , which may or may not include a yashmak , a veil to conceal the face. The eyes may or may not be exposed. Married Hindu women in parts of Northern India observe purdah, with some women wearing a ghoonghat in the presence of older male relations on their husbands' side; Muslim women observe purdah through the wearing of a burqa. Purdah has been rigorously observed under the Taliban in Afghanistan , where women are forced to observe complete purdah at all times while in public. Only close male family members and other women are allowed to see them out of purdah. In other societies, purdah

2737-489: Is also seen as a way to uphold women's honor and virtuous conduct. However, critics point out that this view engages victim-blaming and places the onus of preventing sexual assault on women rather than the perpetrators themselves. Purdah has repeatedly been criticized as oppression of women by limiting female autonomy, freedom of movement, and access to resources such as education, employment, and political participation. Some scholars such as P. Singh and Roy interpret purdah as

2856-527: Is apparent outwardly, and cover their bosoms with their veils ( khumur , sing. khimar ) and not to show their finery except to their husbands or their fathers or fathers-in-law [...] The verse goes on to list a number of other types of exempted males. Classical Quranic commentators differed in their interpretation of the phrase "except what is apparent outwardly". Some said that it referred to face and hands, implying that these body parts need not be covered, while others disagreed. Another passage, known as

2975-405: Is banned in public schools, universities, and government buildings as a measure to discourage displays of political Islam or fundamentalism. Turkey reversed the long-standing ban in 2013. In western Europe, veiling is seen as symbol of Islamic presence, and movements to ban veils have stirred great controversy. For instance, since 2004 France has banned all overt religious symbols in schools including

3094-651: Is because the domestic and public spheres are almost always overlapping in some way, regardless of a cultural female subservience or even egalitarianism. Women enter public spaces in order to fulfill duties that fall within their domestic responsibilities. Men must return to the private, or domestic, space eventually to bring home the spoils of labor from the public sphere. In this sense, there are two separate spheres created and enforced by gender ideologies; but they are not dichotomous. They, instead, form an integrated system of life in society, varying only in levels of intensities from culture to culture. According to Cary Franklin,

3213-585: Is criticism of Purdah system by first Muslim feminist and social reformer Bengali writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932). Sultana's Dream is a 1905 feminist utopian story written by Hossain . It depicts a feminist utopia (called Ladyland) in which women run everything and men are secluded, in a mirror-image of the traditional practice of purdah . Traditional stereotypes such as “Men have bigger brains” and women are "naturally weak" are countered in Sultana's Dream with logic such as "an elephant also has

3332-466: Is essential to the peaceful co-existence between the Austrian majority population and immigrants. The ban came into force on 1 October 2017 and carried a fine of 150 euros. It is reported that there are 150 Austrian women who wear the burqa. On 29 April 2010, the lower house of parliament in Belgium passed a bill banning any clothing that would obscure the identity of the wearer in places like parks and in

3451-577: Is most commonly associated with some Muslim communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan , along with Saudi Arabia . Purdah has been more recently adopted in northern Nigeria , especially in areas affected by the Boko Haram uprising. It is also observed by Rajput clans of India and Pakistan as a social practice regardless of religion. Some scholars argue that the purdah was initially designed to protect women from being harassed, but later these practices became

3570-636: Is not obligatory also base this on a narration from one of the canonical hadith collections (sayings attributed to Muhammad ), in which he tells Asma', the daughter of Abu Bakr : "O Asmaʿ, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this", pointing to her face and hands (Abū Dawūd, Book 32, Number 4092). According to Yusuf al-Qaradawi , traditional hadith scholars have not viewed this narration as providing proof on its own, because its recorded chain of transmission made them uncertain about its authenticity, but those who argued that face veiling

3689-444: Is not required have used it as supporting evidence along other practices, such as those recording customary practice at the time of prophet muhammad and his companions however it is argued that this because of the low resources and incapability at the time. When veiling was discussed in early Islamic jurisprudence beyond the context of prayer , it was generally considered an "issue of social status and physical safety". Later, during

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3808-411: Is nothing else here so high for mortals." — Rev. John Milton Williams, Woman Suffrage , Bibliotheca Sacra (1893) Women's confinement to the private sphere was reinforced by cultural and legal arrangements, such as the lack of women's suffrage , legal prohibitions against women undertaking professions like medicine and law and discouragement from obtaining higher education. Strong support for

3927-522: Is often only practised during certain times of religious significance. The word purdah is derived from the Hindi-Urdu word pardā , which itself is derived from the Persian (pardeh, پرده) from Middle Persian pltk' (pardag), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- ("to cover, wrap; hide, cloth"). In ancient Indian society, "practices that restricted women's social mobility and behavior" existed but

4046-455: Is positively correlated with the risk of domestic violence. The restriction on women's mobility limits their ability to access health care and family planning services, especially for unmarried girls. In rural Pakistan, unmarried women and girls had trouble accessing healthcare facilities even in their own villages due to purdah; all types of women had difficulty accessing facilities outside of their villages because they had to be accompanied. Along

4165-511: Is sometimes perceived as a statement for progressive gender relations. Some women wear veils and head coverings as a symbol for protection and freedom of mobility. They perceive purdah as an empowerment tool, to exercise their rights to access public space for education and economic independence. For instance, in rural Bangladeshi villages, women who wear the burkha were found to have higher social participation and visibility, which overall contributes to an increase in women's status. "Secluded Women"

4284-646: Is still common in the rural elite and urban middle class, but not among rural farmers. The rationales of individual women for keeping purdah are complex and can be a combination of motivations, freely chosen or in response to social pressure or coercion: religious, cultural (desire for authentic cultural dress), political (Islamization of the society), economic (status symbol, protection from the public gaze), psychological (detachment from public sphere to gain respect), fashion and decorative purposes, and "empowerment" (donning veils to move in public spaces controlled by men). The following reminiscence from C.M. Naim describes

4403-674: Is the desire to be modern and keep up with the latest fashions, or refusal to do so as a source of autonomy and power. Simultaneously, due to modernization in many urban areas, purdah and face-veiling are seen as unsophisticated and backwards, creating a trend in less strict observance of purdah. For the Muslim South Asian diaspora living in secular non-Muslim communities such as Pakistani-Americans, attitudes about purdah have changed to be less strict. As it pertains to education and economic opportunities, these immigrant families hold less conservative views about purdah after moving to America; for

4522-486: Is the poorest, most desperate families that, given the opportunity, are more willing to stress purdah norms and take the social risks entailed when women engage in wage or self-employment. For instance, rural women in Bangladesh have been found to be less concerned with propriety and purdah, and take up work where available, migrating if they need to. They take up work in a variety of sectors from agriculture to manufacturing to

4641-515: The Byzantine Empire . However, although Byzantine art before Islam commonly depicts women with veiled heads or covered hair, it does not depict women with veiled faces. In addition, the Greek geographer Strabo , writing in the 1st century AD, refers to some Persian women veiling their faces; and the early third-century Christian writer Tertullian clearly refers in his treatise The Veiling of Virgins to some "pagan" women of "Arabia" wearing

4760-555: The Catholic Church ; it does not apply to private or religious schools. This was followed on 22 June 2009, when the then-President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy , said that burqas were "not welcome" in France, commenting that "In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity". The French National Assembly appointed 32 lawmakers from right- and left-wing parties to

4879-466: The Progressive Era . By the early 20th century, however, dissident anthropologists and other social scientists began to challenge the biological determination of human behavior, revealing great similarities between men and women and suggesting that many sex differences were socially constructed. Despite these new insights and social and economic changes such as women's entry into the labor force,

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4998-610: The burqa existed in Arabia before Islam, and the mobility of upper-class women was restricted in Babylonia , Persian , and Byzantine Empires before the advent of Islam. Historians believe purdah was acquired by the Muslims during the expansion of the Arab Empire into modern-day Iraq in the 7th century C.E and that Islam merely added religious significance to already existing local practices of

5117-609: The migrant crisis and electoral gains by the anti-immigration AfD party. In 2017, a legal ban on face-covering clothing for soldiers and state workers during work was approved by the German parliament. Also in 2017, a legal ban on face-covering clothing for car and truck drivers was approved by the German Ministry of Traffic. In July 2017 the state of Bavaria approved a ban on face-covering clothing for teachers, state workers and students at university and schools. In August 2017,

5236-468: The upper and middle classes in the 19th century. "True women" were supposed to be pious, pure, submissive and domestic. Domesticity, in particular, was regarded as a laudable virtue as the home was considered a woman's proper sphere. Unlike Tocqueville, Welter and other 20th-century historians were critical of the separate spheres ideology, seeing it as a source of women's denigration. In Woman, Culture, and Society (1974), Michelle Rosaldo emphasizes

5355-459: The "mantle verse" (33:59), has been interpreted as establishing women's security as a rationale for veiling: O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters, and the women of the faithful, to draw their wraps ( jalabib , sing. jilbab ) over them. They will thus be recognized and no harm will come to them. God is forgiving and kind. Based on the context of the verse and early Islamic literature, this verse has been generally understood as establishing

5474-417: The "separate sphere" ideals that confined women exclusively to the domestic sphere. Theorists such as Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx have argued that following the rise of capitalism, the home lost its control of the means of production and consequently became a private, separate sphere. As a result, Engels contended, women were excluded from participating directly in the production process and relegated to

5593-415: The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings by jihadists. Syria is a Baathist state and discourages the wearing of hijab . Ghiyath Barakat, Syria's minister of higher education, announced that the government would ban students, teachers or staff from covering faces at universities, stating that the veils ran counter to "secular and academic principles of the country". In 2017 the government of Tajikistan passed

5712-486: The British colonial period in India, purdah observance was widespread and strictly adhered to among the Muslim minority. In modern times, the practice of veiling and secluding women is still present in mainly Islamic countries, communities and South Asian countries. However, the practice is not monolithic. Purdah takes on different forms and significance depending on the region, time, socioeconomic status , and local culture. It

5831-471: The Danish government agreed to adopt a law prohibiting people to wear "attire and clothing masking the face in such a way that it impairs recognizability". A full ban on both niqabs and burqas was announced on 31 May 2018. The ban came into force on 1 August 2018 and carries a fine of 1000 DKK , then about 134 euro; repeat offenses are punishable with fines up to 10,000 DKK. The law targets all garments that cover

5950-658: The Duties of the Female Sex (1797) and Henry Venn 's The Complete Duty of Man (1763) were two popular evangelical texts which described proper behavior for men and women, arguing that a woman's primary duty was to care for those in her domestic circle and obey her husband. In her paper "Separate Spheres or Shared Dominions", Cathy Ross suggests that the separate spheres ideology had ambiguous effects on women's lives. She argues that while it "was clear that women were supposed to be subordinate and that home and children were their sphere",

6069-504: The Forties – it was considered improper even for Hindu ladies of certain classes to be seen in public with their hair and faces uncovered, particularly the married women. They never wore a burqa – that was for Muslims alone. Instead, they used a shawl, a plain white sheet, or the palloo of their saris to cover what was not for strangers to see. They too lived in houses that had separate women’s quarters. Their daughters traveled to school daily in

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6188-501: The Muslim area of Xinjiang . Among the Muslim population in India (about 14.2% as of the 2011 census ), the burqa ( Hindi : बुरक़ा , Urdu : بُرقع ) was formerly common in many areas, such as Old Delhi , for example. In Nizamuddin Basti , the obligation of a woman to wear a burqa is dependent on her age, according to a local informant: young, unmarried women or young, married women in their first years of marriage are required to wear

6307-399: The Muslim headscarf. In Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh where the word purdah is primarily used, the government has no policies either for or against veiling. Nations such as Pakistan have been swinging to more conservative laws and policies that use rhetoric of following Islamic law, sometimes termed Islamization . The ideology is reinforcing traditional culture, traditional women's roles in

6426-806: The Netherlands (in public schools, hospitals and on public transport), Germany (partial bans in some states), Italy (in some localities), Spain (in some localities of Catalonia ), Russia (in the Stavropol Krai ), Luxembourg , Switzerland, Norway (in nurseries, public schools and universities), Canada (in the public workplace in Quebec ), Gabon , Chad , Senegal , the Republic of the Congo , Cameroon (in some localities), Niger (in some localities), Sri Lanka , Tajikistan , Azerbaijan (in public schools), Turkey (in

6545-602: The Quran commands both men and women to behave modestly and contains no precise prescription for how women should dress, certain Quranic verses have been used in exegetical discussions of face veiling. Coming after a verse which instructs men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty, verse 24:31 instructs women to do the same, providing additional detail: Tell the believing women to lower their eyes, guard their private parts ( furuj ), and not display their charms ( zina ) except what

6664-510: The arrival of Islam in India "intensified these Hindu practices, and by the 19th century purdah was the customary practice of high-caste Hindu and elite communities throughout India." Although purdah is commonly associated with Islam , many scholars argue that veiling and secluding women pre-dates Islam; these practices were commonly found among various groups in the Middle East such as Druze , Christian , and Jewish communities. For instance,

6783-421: The ban already in force for school staff. In Italy, by an anti-terrorism law passed in 1975, it is forbidden to wear any dress that hides the face of a person. At that time, Italy was facing domestic (not Islam-related) terrorism. In May 2010, it was reported that a Tunisian woman was fined €500 for this offence. Separate spheres Terms such as separate spheres and domestic–public dichotomy refer to

6902-517: The burqa has not been allowed in French public schools since 2004, when it was judged to be a religious symbol, similar to the Christian cross, and was outlawed for wear within schools as an application of an established 1905 law that prohibits students and staff from wearing any clearly visible religious symbols. The law relates to the time where the secular French state took over control of most schools from

7021-511: The burqa is not obligatory. For many women, wearing the burqa represents modesty, piety, and cultural identity, while others choose it as an expression of personal or religious commitment. A minority of scholars in the Islamic jurisprudence ( fiqh ) consider it to be obligatory for Muslim women when they are in the presence of non-related (i.e., non- mahram ) males. This is in order to prevent men from looking (perversely) at women. This aligns with

7140-531: The burqa, after two female suicide bombers in burqa detonated themselves in Fotokol , killing 13. The ban is now active in five of the country's ten regions . In June 2015, the full face veil was banned in Chad after veiled Boko Haram members disguised as women committed multiple suicide bombings in N'Djamena . In May 2015, the Republic of the Congo banned the face veil citing security reasons. The decision

7259-653: The burqa. However, after this the husband usually decides if his wife should continue to wear a burqa. In addition, the Indian burqa is a slim black cloak different from the style worn in Afghanistan. A group of Haredi (ultra- Orthodox ) Jewish women in Israel began to don the Burqa as a symbol of piety. Following its adoption by Bruria Keren, an Israeli religious leader who taught a strict interpretation of Jewish scripture to female adherents, an estimated 600 Jewish women started to wear

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7378-754: The case of Tamar, the Biblical text, 'When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; because she had covered her face' indicates customary, if not sacred, use of the face veil to accentuate rather than disguise sexuality. Coptic Orthodox Christian women historically have worn dark-coloured full garments, along with a Christian head covering that included a veil to wear in public. Women who are unmarried wear white-coloured veils and married women wear black-coloured veils. Despite legal requirements and prevalence in certain regions, many modern Islamic scholars and most contemporary Islamic jurists have said that Islam does not require women to cover their faces. Although

7497-460: The chadaree must do so as a matter of personal safety, according to Khalid Hanafi. The Taliban , immediately after re-taking Afghanistan , declared that while women may return to work, they must always wear the hijab while outside the house, while the chadaree was not mandatory. In May 2022 the Taliban issued a decree that all women in public must wear a chadaree. In 2017, China banned the burqa in

7616-477: The civil rights statutes of the Second Reconstruction. Deborah Rotman, an anthropologist at Notre Dame, analyzed this concept of separate spheres among the people of Deerfield, Massachusetts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In this community, there was a clear divide between men and women by means of a "proper allocation" in which females were given the domestic residence or sphere and

7735-444: The cultural traditions of these regions. Coptic Orthodox Christian women traditionally wore dark garments with veils, white for the unmarried and black for the married. Face veiling has not been regarded as a religious requirement by most Islamic scholars, either in the past or the present. While some interpret Quranic verses, such as 24:31 and 33:59, as encouraging modesty and security for women, most contemporary scholars agree that

7854-417: The daughters who do choose to wear the veil, they usually do so out of their own volition as a connection to their Islamic roots and culture. Some scholars argue that purdah was originally designed to protect women from being harassed and seen as sexual objects. In contemporary times, some men and women still interpret the purdah as a way to protect women's safety while moving in public sphere. Observing purdah

7973-427: The doli away on their shoulders. ... When Ammi traveled in my father's car, she covered herself the same way, while the back seat of the car where she sat was made completely invisible by pieces of cloth hung across the windows. Apa, my mother, belonged to the next generation. She used a burqa . Hers was a two piece ‘modern' outfit, as opposed to the one-piece – derisively called ‘the shuttlecock ' by my sisters – that

8092-612: The domestic realm. Rousseau described women's primary duties in Emile, or On Education , stating that "women's entire education should be planned in relation to men. To please men, to be useful to them, to win their love and respect, to raise them as children, to care for them as adults, correct and console them, make their lives sweet and pleasant; these are women's duties in all ages and these are what they should be taught from childhood." The popular beliefs about inherent sex differences remained deeply embedded in popular consciousness throughout

8211-583: The domestic sphere, and the need to protect women's honor. The result is policies that reinforce cultural norms that limit female mobility in the public sphere, promotion of gender segregation, and institutionalization of gender disparities. Women have been engaging in efforts to challenge the gender inequality resulting from purdah. For instance, women in Pakistan have organized trade unions and attempt to exercise their right to vote and influence decision making. However, their opponents accuse these women of falling for

8330-408: The evolution of purdah during the first third of the 20th century among the sharif or genteel people of Avadh , United Provinces , British India : The word ‘Hijab' is relatively new for me. It was not a part of my vocabulary as I was growing up. I learned it much later, when I began to read literary and religious Urdu texts. ... The relevant word that I learned growing up was purdah . And I learned

8449-545: The face, such as fake beards or balaclavas. Supporters of the ban claim that the ban facilitates integration of Muslims into Danish society, while Amnesty International claimed the ban violated women's rights. On the date the law came into force, a protest numbering 300-400 people was held in Copenhagen's Nørrebro district organised by Socialist Youth Front , Kvinder i Dialog and Party Rebels, with protesters wearing various head coverings including party masks. Wearing

8568-548: The face, which Apa could throw back in the company of women, e.g. while traveling in the ladies compartment on a train, or hold partly aside to look at things more closely when she went shopping. Apa wore a burqa all her life, except of course when she went to Mecca for Hajj. There she wore the same sheets of ihram that Ammi had to were [ sic ] earlier. Like all women pilgrims then and now, she too exposed her face to everyone’s sight but not her hair. ... I should not neglect to mention that in those days – I’m talking about

8687-434: The field, claiming the spheres cannot be outlined in such simplistic terms. Woman, Culture, and Society co-editor Louis Lamphere breaks down Rosaldo's model and discusses the spheres in different terms. Rather than assume universal asymmetry, Lamphere considers various societies worldwide. Even in some Middle Eastern cultures that place women in extreme positions of subordination, the model could not be so easily applied. This

8806-526: The four islamic madhabs) jurists counted a woman's face among the awra (parts that shouldn't be shown), concluding that it should be veiled, except for the eyes. The Hanbali jurist Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328 CE) was an influential proponent of the latter view, while the Hanafi scholar Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (d. 1197 CE) stressed that it was particularly important for a woman to leave her face and hands uncovered during everyday business dealing with men. There

8925-416: The head to the ground, with a mesh screen which only allows the wearer to see in front of her. The use of face veils has been documented in various ancient cultures, including the Byzantine Empire , Persia , Arabia, and ancient Palestine . Historical sources mention women’s practices of face veiling . Additionally, Biblical references in Genesis highlight the use of veils, indicating their significance in

9044-532: The history of the separate spheres model in the United States. Henke points out that between 1820 and 1860 (a period sometimes called the dawn of separate spheres) three parenting models were common for two-parent, mother/father families: According to Henke, many parenting books from this era suggested that mothers should take primary responsibility for their children. Yet, some parenting books argued that mothers and fathers should have separate childrearing duties or

9163-453: The idea that these separate spheres can be explained in terms of a dichotomy, in the sense that these gender-oriented domains are viewed as so totally separate that it only reinforces the ideology of gender separation and inequality. Activities given to men, versus those assigned to women, were seen as having more value and contributing greatly to the society. Adversely, the woman's so-called simpler roles of housework and childrearing were held at

9282-534: The ideological framework in Deerfield, women found themselves voting in school boards, working on municipal water projects and fundraising as men had done before them. Despite the traditional understanding of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century of completely separate public and private spheres, the Deerfield community challenged these "dichotomies of domesticity" and paved the way for equal rights for men and women. The separation between female and male spheres

9401-438: The immediate family (for some Hindus). For Muslims, seclusion begins at puberty while for Hindus, seclusion begins after marriage. By restricting women's mobility, purdah results in the social and physical isolation of women. Lack of a strong social network places women in a position of vulnerability with her husband and her husband's family. Studies have shown that in conservative rural Bangladeshi communities, adherence to purdah

9520-462: The importance of focusing on structurally altering the family sphere to create gender equality in the education and workplace spheres. The family sphere acted as a catalyst, because: unless it changed, women would simply lack access to the opportunities already available to men. Franklin also pointed out that the gender inequality among the American population in the 60’s and 70’s was a major contributor to

9639-470: The in-laws' village. It is not worn otherwise, for example, when visiting her mother's home or in a location far from the in-laws' village. Hindu women in other parts of India—south, east, west (below Gujarat )—do not veil themselves. For both Hindu and Muslim women in the eastern part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh , having a "separate women's quarters within the house" is commonplace among families who can afford it. Another important aspect of purdah

9758-452: The judiciary, military and police), Kosovo (in public schools), Bosnia and Herzegovina (in courts and other legal institutions), Morocco (ban on manufacturing, marketing and sale), Tunisia (in public institutions), Egypt (in universities), Algeria (in the public workplace), and China (in Xinjiang ). The face veil was originally part of women's dress among certain classes in

9877-663: The judiciary. Lack of mobility and discouragement from participating in political life means women cannot easily exercise their right to vote, run for political office, participate in trade unions, or participate in community level decision-making. Women's limited participation in political decision-making therefore results in policies that do not sufficiently address needs and rights of women in areas such as access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities, property ownership, justice, and others. Gender imbalance in policy-making also reinforces institutionalization of gender disparities. In Tunisia and formerly Turkey, religious veiling

9996-642: The law against face-covering is not discriminatory because it would apply to everyone, not just Muslims. They cite a host of exceptions, including motorcycle helmets, or masks for health reasons, fencing, skiing or carnivals". In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the French ban on burqa, accepting the argument of the French government that the law was based on "a certain idea of living together". In 2022, France's top administrative court ruled against allowing body-covering "burkini" swimwear in public pools for religious reasons, arguing that it violates

10115-540: The law becoming effective beginning on 11 April 2011. When the measure was sent in May to the parliament, it was stated that "Given the damage it produces on those rules which allow the life in community, ensure the dignity of the person and equality between sexes, this practice, even if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place". The ban is officially called "The bill to forbid concealing one's face in public". "It refers neither to Islam nor to veils. Officials insist

10234-402: The medieval era, Islamic jurists began to devote more attention to the notion of awra (intimate parts) and the question of whether women should cover their faces. The majority opinion which emerged during that time, predominant among Maliki and Hanafi jurists, held that women should cover everything except their faces in public. In contrast, most medieval Hanbali and Shafi'i (two of

10353-469: The men were given the "economically productive agricultural land". Men would migrate away from the women if agriculture was depleting in their given agricultural space. As the men were moving to work outside the home, women began to acclimate to the economic atmosphere and gain more opportunities in the public sphere with all the men working elsewhere. These women soon had various roles in the public and private spheres in Deerfield. As equal rights became part of

10472-424: The ordinary clothes and is made of white cotton. Many upper-class women wear a two-piece burqa which is usually black in colour but sometimes navy blue or dark red. It consists of a long cloak and a separate headpiece with a drop-down face veil. Some educated urban women no longer wear the burqa. The burqa is also not worn by rural peasant women who work in the fields. In rural areas only elite women wear burqas. Purdah

10591-677: The other. Debates over the "proper" roles of women and men continued throughout antiquity. The modern ideology of separate spheres emerged in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the industrialization of the Western world, family members worked side by side and the workplace was located mostly in and around the home. With the shift from home-based to factory production, men left the home to sell their labor for wages while women stayed home to perform unpaid domestic work. The separate spheres ideology reflected and fueled these changes. At

10710-454: The pernicious influence of Westernization and turning their backs on tradition. In Bengal , feminist activism dates back to the 19th century. For instance, Begum Rokeya and Faizunnesa Choudhurani played a significant role in emancipating Bengali Muslim women from purdah. Globalization and Muslim women returning from diasporas has influenced Pakistani women's purdah practice in areas outside of religious significance. One major influence

10829-558: The principle of government neutrality toward religion. In a 2016 speech, accepting her nomination for reelection, the German chancellor Angela Merkel called for banning the burqa in Germany "wherever legally possible", which was interpreted as support for the earlier proposal by Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière to outlaw full-face veils in public buildings. The announcement was seen as an attempt to counter public anger at Merkel's handling of

10948-417: The principles of Islamic jurisprudence, which requires men to observe modesty by lowering their gaze in the presence of women. Women may wear the burqa for a number of reasons, including compulsion, as was the case during the Taliban's first rule of Afghanistan . However, several countries have enacted full or partial bans on its use in public spaces. These include Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark, Bulgaria,

11067-512: The public sphere – the domain of politics, paid work, commerce and law. Women's "proper sphere", according to the ideology, is the realm of domestic life, focused on childcare, housekeeping and religion. In Europe and North America, the idealization of separate spheres emerged during the Industrial Revolution . As an observable phenomenon, however, the existence of separate spheres is much older. The idea that women should inhabit

11186-449: The public sphere. Similarly, Christian fundamentalists supported the separate spheres ideology and opposed women's suffrage as well as other attempts to broaden women's influence in the public sphere. Theological conservatism has been found to have a stable effect on the endorsement of separate spheres ideology. Leading evangelicals propagated a view of womanhood which reinforced gendered division. Thomas Gisborne 's An Enquiry into

11305-754: The requirements of male sexuality: either to repress or to stimulate the male sex urge". When purdah is institutionalized into laws, it limits opportunity, autonomy, and agency in both private and public life. The result is policies that reinforce cultural norms that limit female mobility in the public sphere, promotion of gender segregation, and institutionalization of gender disparities. Sometimes reactions to purdah adherence can become violent. For instance, in 2001 in Srinagar , India, four young Muslim women were victimized by acid attacks for not veiling themselves in public; similar threats and attacks have occurred in Pakistan and Kashmir. The revival of purdah in modern times

11424-519: The same time, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution helped spread the ideas of liberty, equality and political rights, but in practice such rights were denied to women, who were seen as belonging to a different social sphere. Feminist writers like Olympe de Gouges , Mary Wollstonecraft and Lucy Stone demanded political equality for women as well as men and provided searing criticisms of

11543-806: The same vein, studies of women's contraceptive use in Bangladesh shows that women with decreased observance of purdah and increased mobility are more likely to use contraceptives. By restricting women's mobility, purdah places severe limits on women's ability to participate in gainful employment and to attain economic independence. The ideology of purdah constricts women in the domestic sphere for reproductive role and places men in productive role as breadwinners who move through public space. However, due to economic needs and shifts in gender relations, some women are compelled to break purdah to gain income. Across countries, women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds tend to observe purdah less because they face greater financial pressures to work and gain income. Studies show that "it

11662-407: The seclusion of women to the domestic sphere is a demonstration of higher socioeconomic status and prestige because women are not needed for manual labor outside the home. In the past around the 1970s, upper and middle-class women in towns in Pakistan would wear burqas over their normal clothes in public. The burqa was the most visible dress in Pakistan. It is typically a tent-like garment worn over

11781-431: The separate spheres ideology did not disappear. "Woman has no call to the ballot-box, but she has a sphere of her own, of amazing responsibility and importance. She is the divinely appointed guardian of the home...She should more fully realize that her position as wife and mother and angel of the home, is the holiest, most responsible and queenlike assigned to mortals; and dismiss all ambition for anything higher, as there

11900-436: The separate spheres of women and men a positive development, arguing: although the women of the United States are confined within the narrow circle of domestic life and their situation is in some respects one of extreme dependence, I have nowhere seen women occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked...to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply,—to

12019-419: The separation of spheres came from antisuffragists who relied on the notion of inherent sexual differences to argue that women were unfit for political participation. Antifeminist men's groups in late 19th and early 20th century United States responded to the societal changes and shift in gender relations by advocating a return to a strict separation of spheres that would keep women from competing with men in

12138-425: The separation of spheres enabled women "to reach out to other women in sisterhood, in solidarity, on the common ground of domesticity". The ideology of separate spheres contributed to resistance to coeducation and to the emergence of gendered educational institutions such as the female seminary and women's college in higher education and the woman's club in continuing education . The rise of teaching as

12257-492: The sex trade. However, other studies found that purdah still plays a significant role in women's decisions to participate in the workforce, often prohibiting them from taking opportunities they would otherwise. The degree to which women observe purdah and the pressures they face to conform or to earn income vary with their socioeconomic class. Social and mobility restrictions under purdah severely limit women's involvement in political decision-making in government institutions and in

12376-510: The south. Before the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the chadaree was rarely worn in cities, especially Kabul. While they were in power, the Taliban required the wearing of a chadaree in public. Chadaree use in the remainder of Afghanistan is variable and was observed to be gradually declining in Kabul, until the city fell to the Taliban on 15 August 2021. Due to political instability in these areas, women who might not otherwise be inclined to wear

12495-483: The state of Lower Saxony banned the burqa along with the niqab in public schools. This change in the law was prompted by a Muslim pupil in Osnabrück who wore the garment to school for years and refused to take it off. The law was instituted to prevent similar cases in the future following the completion of her schooling. In July 2020, the state of Baden-Württemberg banned face-covering veils for pupils, an extension of

12614-595: The street. The proposal was passed without dissent, and was then also passed by the Senate. BBC News estimated that only "around 30 women wear this kind of veil in Belgium, out of a Muslim population of around half a million". The ban came into effect in Belgium in July 2011. On 11 July 2017, the ban was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after having been challenged by two Muslim women who claimed their rights had been infringed. The Parliament of Bulgaria outlawed

12733-563: The subordinate domestic sphere. Another major commentator on the modern idea of "separate spheres" was the French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville . In Democracy in America (1840), in a chapter entitled How the Americans understand the Equality of the sexes , Tocqueville wrote: "In no country has such constant care been taken as in America to trace two clearly distinct lines of action for

12852-417: The superiority of their women. Betty Friedan 's The Feminine Mystique (1963) asserted that women were being forced to rely on their husbands and children as the sole sources of their identity by an historically constructed oppressive paradigm, not by any "intrinsic" predisposition. Drawing on Friedan, historian Barbara Welter identified a "Cult of True Womanhood" , an ideal of femininity prevalent among

12971-608: The times. Muslim rule of northern India during the Mughal Empire influenced the practice of Hinduism , and the purdah spread to the Hindu upper classes of northern India. The spread of purdah outside of the Muslim community can be attributed to the tendency of affluent classes to mirror the societal practices of the nobility; poor women did not observe purdah. Lower-class women in small villages often worked in fields, and therefore could not afford to abandon their work to be secluded. During

13090-499: The two sexes and to make them keep pace one with the other, but in two pathways that are always different." He observed that married women, in particular, were subject to many restrictions, noting that "the independence of woman is irrecoverably lost in the bonds of matrimony", adding that "in the United States the inexorable opinion of the public carefully circumscribes woman within the narrow circle of domestic interests and duties and forbids her to step beyond it." Tocqueville considered

13209-505: The veil. Keren claimed to have adopted wearing the burqa to "save men from themselves. A man who sees a woman's body parts is sexually aroused, and this might cause him to commit sin. Even if he doesn't actually sin physically, his impure thoughts are sin in themselves". However, a rabbinical authority said "There is a real danger that by exaggerating, you are doing the opposite of what is intended [resulting in] severe transgressions in sexual matters", and issued an edict declaring burqa-wearing

13328-486: The wearing of any clothing "that partially or completely covers the face" in public places such as government offices, educational and cultural institutions, and places of public recreation, except for health or professional reasons from 30 September 2016. Anyone who violates the law is liable to a fine of up to 1,500 levs (US$ 860). The Muslim community makes up 15% of the Bulgarian population of 7.1 million. In autumn 2017,

13447-474: The women’s rights movements in the mid-1960s proposed that to achieve true equality between the sexes, it would be necessary for laws to be put in place to move past the simple separate spheres model and address the “interspherical impacts”. In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) pushed for equality of women in society and in the workplace by means of changes in family regulation. NOW stressed

13566-454: The word and its many meanings in the observed practice of the various female members of my middle-class family in Bara Banki , a small town in north India. For Ammi, my grandmother, purdah meant almost never venturing out of the house. On the rare occasions when she did, it was always an elaborate ritual. Visiting a family in the neighbourhood – only on the occasion of some tragedy, ... she used

13685-608: Was a difference of opinion on this question within the legal schools. Thus, Yusuf al-Qaradawi quotes Shafi'i and Hanbali jurists stating that covering the face is not obligatory. In the Shi'a Ja'fari school of fiqh , covering the face is not obligatory. According to the Salafi point of view, it is obligatory ( fard ) for a woman to cover her entire body when in public or in presence of non-mahram (i.e men who aren't their husbands and intermediate family) men. Some interpretations say that

13804-440: Was a woman's school from 1866 to 1950, insisted that she was "in favor of the co-education of the sexes" and that the education at her school was equal to what was given to young men. In the 21st century, the legacy of the separation of spheres has a lasting impact perpetuating the separation of various academic and professional fields into gendered areas. A 2013 study by Jacqueline Henke from Arkansas State University explores

13923-435: Was announced by El Hadji Djibril Bopaka, the president of the country's Islamic High Council who stated that "some non-Muslims have been using the full veil to hide and to carry out uncivic acts". In 2015, Gabon banned the face veil in public and places of work. The authorities said the move was intended to "prevent the risk of suicide attack". The government distributed letters to businesses on 9 January 2017 declaring

14042-594: Was heavily influenced by biological determinism , the notion that women and men are naturally suitable for different social roles due to their biological and genetic makeup. The idea of biological determinism was popular during the Age of Enlightenment and among such thinkers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau who argued that women were inherently different from men and should devote themselves to reproduction and domesticity. Women were considered passive, dependent on men and, due to their reproductive capacity, ill-suited for life outside

14161-404: Was preferred by the older or more conservatively spirited in the family. I also remember that the older generation's burqas were usually white, while the new burqas were always black. Apa’s burqa’ consisted of a skirt and a separate top throw – one that covered her from the head to the thighs. The two pieces allowed for easier movement of both arms and legs. The top had a separate veil hanging over

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