Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Running head:
“Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.”

Author’s
Muhammad Saad
Muhammad Dawood Khan
Fasahat Chohan
Abia Ali
Forman Christian College
(A CHARTERED UNIVERSITY)

1
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Chapter 1
Introduction
This research will focus on the Purdah system in Pakistan. Nowadays, Pakistan is deeply
affected by the extremist ideology of Islam. Purdah system is one of the most important issue not
only in Pakistan but also in some places if India. The Purdah system which limits a woman’s
mobility outside her home. The Purdah system is related to status, the division of labor,
interpersonal dependency and social distance. It was as a ‘symbolic shelter’. In Purdah societies,
women are simultaneously defined as being very important in the family unit. Because the
Muslim institutions of purdah has such a broad impact on the status of women. The problem
which stands out to carry this research is that is Islam still stressing on the fact that women
should be using Purdah to keep their dignity.

Hypothesis: Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Methodology: For doing this research, we will be training for the origins of Purdah. The method
will be qualitative and quantitative both and our sample will be men and women both to collect
data.

Objectives: Our aim is to find the roots of the Purdah system in Pakistan. Secondly, Worth of
Purdah in recent era and the third one is why women do purdah what are the forces due to which
they take Purdah.

Research Questions:

1. Why is it related to culture and not religion?

2. Is Purdah enforced on women because of its society?
3. Does religion enforce Purdah and where?

2
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Literature Review
In every era, it has been observed that woman has been demoralized and discriminated. Prejudice
regarding women has been noticed in all times till date. Women of the past went through tough
times with different degrees of suppression and exploitation. It is from this backdrop that the
observance of purdah came into existence. The issue of purdah is one with extreme controversy.
Some think of it as a sign of women’s dignity and respect while others take it as a hurdle to keep
women in perpetual subjugation. Many women resist purdah; they think it restricts their freedom
and puts them into a corner, not allowing them access to education, work and having other social
relationships. Some of the women who support the practice of purdah say that purdah is meant to
improve a woman's position. They are of the view that purdah frees a woman from the daily
worry of accessorizing herself and also makes a man less attracted to her body.

Scarves and veils became an ingredient of several cultures long before even Islam came into
being in the seventh century in the Saudi Arabia. As it spread through the Middle East to
Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, to Central Asia, and many different societies around the
Arabian Sea, it took up many different forms and became a source of influence for many women
across vast areas. But it is only recently that some Islamic states, such as Iran, which have begun
to require all women to wear the veil.
In our country purdah is also related to difference in class, income, place of residence, level of
education, occupation, religious or sectarian affiliation, restrictive group membership and
individual life circumstances. It is observed to be a common practice among members of the
lower middle class.
Nowadays, wearing a hijab does not indicate solely the affiliation with religion but also social
status, connection to different subgroups, and a kind of distinctive manifesto. Thus, the hijab as a
clothing item specific to Muslim women can be thought of as a fashion tool through which they
express both their affiliation to their cultural trend and differentiation to and from certain groups.
Purdah is maintained through a variety of articles of clothing such as ‘burkah’, ‘abaya’, ‘veil’,
‘dupatta’ and ‘chaddar’. At present, in Pakistan, a woman’s domain is not much separated from
that of a man’s because there has been a great shift in the position a woman now has when
compared to the position a woman used to have in the past which comprised of remaining in the
house for the whole of her life. This shift is more commonly observed in the urban middle class
and therefore, burkahs, veils and abayas are now mostly things of use for the women from either
the upper urban class, lower class or the rural areas. A point of view, mainly considered a
western point of view, is that women who remain clad in burkahs or abayas tend to be shyer and
less communicative and therefore, cannot progress much in society. While this is held to be true
for many, many others don’t seem to find it accurate because some women who observe purdah
feel more confident and self-assured because they feel they don’t always remain under a constant
fear of not being able to impress others by just how they appear to be. At the same time, urban
middle-class women, whether they observe purdah in some form or not, often appear to be more
self-assured, capable in their dealings with others than men from an analogous background.

3
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

It is witnessed now in various societies, especially the Asian and Arabic ones, that purdah is
taken up by women not because it provides them with a physical barrier or a trendy look but,
they just have to wear it in order to cope with the cultural trends. In other words, many women
wear an abaya just because their mothers wear it and ask them to wear it, too. They hold purdah
as a family value and a symbol of the family’s reputation.
I will conclude that Purdah is directly related to culture because it links with the different classes,
level of education, place of residence and your society in south Asian countries. Secondly, it is
used for the division of physical space which separates the woman from the man. Practice of
purdah is strictly followed in tribal areas because they are not broad-minded people.
Our society is based on caste system hence segregation in society is cut to deep which is widely
accepted through various norms of purdah. Pakistan is a patriarchal society where male authority
is still enforced in almost all spheres of family life and is usually supported by such kinship
organizations as ‘Qabeela’ or ‘Baradari’. Women are considered to be weak and needing
protection by the male members of their families. Since women in Pakistani society are generally
viewed as ‘protected persons’ they are effectively segregated from economics activities which
are male dominated. An emphasis is on mutually exclusive, through complementary, role for
men and women both in family and in society at large. Sexual segregation is highly
institutionalized in the form of Purdah. At a more general level, purdah is understood to mean the
segregation of women from men who are not relatives and the maintenance of modesty in dress
and manner.
There are four rule of purdah system. First, interaction between men and women is limited
outside a certain well-defined category of people. Secondly, the sexes are segregated before or at
the time of puberty; boys and girls are no longer expected to play together or mingle with each
other. Thirdly, there is a sexual division of labor in that the women work in the household and
the men in the outside world, earning a livelihood for the family. Fourthly, women must at all
times be modest in dress, movement, attitude and expression so as to avoid attracting the
opposite sex.
In our society purdah is enforced on women because majority of the south Asian countries are
not liberal and broad minded. In purdah system, some of the central features of the society such
as caste ranking function differently within the various segregated sections and these need to be
independently studied. The wider background of the purdah system in south Asia is double; on
the one hand, a social structure based on highly differentiated, hierarchically ordered ascriptive
units called castes, which are closely related to the great tradition of Muslims and Hindus. On the
other, caste strictly speaking, is not accepted. The social organization of Muslim groups in south
Asia has nevertheless been deeply affected by the general principles of a caste society. In the
broad sense, the purdah system is related to status, the division of Laboure, interpersonal
dependency, social distance and the maintenance of moral standards as specified by the society.
In purdah society, women are simultaneously defined as being very important in the family unit
and very vulnerable when they move into the world outside the home. Purdah provides symbolic
shelter for the women in the family not least from strong impulses. There are some segregated
institutions, such as women’s schools, which are not supposed to be entered by men. It should be

4
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

clear that while these separations exist. These are wide differences in the extent to which
individual women use separated spaces.
The ideology has much to do with the overall functioning of society and not just the nature of
relationship between men and women. In the Middle East, the responsibility of male to control
the shame and defend the honor of their females is in keeping with the male centrism of Islam. In
a society where male is a very significant element of identity and status, the seclusion of women
is an important aspect of male control. Even women do not make decisions independently and
are often following the rules laid down by their husband and his family.
In Middle East, majority of the people have the Islamic background and obviously Islam
enforces purdah. More generally the practices of purdah has long been a significant element in
Islamic culture. Purdah is used as a shelter for women and it protects women from the evil eye of
man. It limits a women’s mobility outside her home. It limits the interaction between men and
women outside a certain well-defined category of people. It is used for the separation of boys
and girls because they can no longer play together and attract the opposite sex because women
attitude, expression and dress can attract the opposite sex. Abdullah narrated in Jam-e-tirmazi
that Holy Prophet PBUH said, the women is Awrah, so when she goes out, the shaitan seeks to
tempt her.
Overview of post colonialism theory, Practices vary according to class. Women are differentiated
through different frame works which includes class, culture or religion. The varying cross-
cultural comparisons result in the colonization of specifics of daily existence and complexities of
political interests. Women in the third world countries have very less choices and freedom to act
and are significant in suggesting a latent self-presentation of western women which bears
looking at. All women were assigned tasks about family, dignity and service to others no matter
how qualified they were
I will conclude that Majority of the people follow the purdah system because of its society. They
are very careful about their status and practice of purdah is also related the status in our country.
They considered that women are a very important part in a family unit. She is also considered to
be weak and needing to protection so that’s why they use purdah as a shelter.

5
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

CHAPTER 3
Data Analysis

1-What is your age?

Out of the 60 people who answered, 35% were aged above 30 years old, 23.3% were aged between
26-30 years old, 25% were aged between 21-25 while 16.7% were aged between 16-20 years.

6
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

2-What is your gender?

Most of the people who took part in this survey, 61.7% were females and rest of the others were
males.

3-Where are you from?

We got these responses form Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Jhang, Kohath, Lahore and many
other cities of Pakistan.

7
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

4-What is your Religion?

Majority of the people were Muslim who took part in this survey and we got these responses also
from the people who belonged to other religions.

5- How do you classify the term Purdah?

There are 28.3% people who classify the term purdah with Hijab and Veil, 25% classify this with
Dupatta and rest of the other classify it with Scarf and Burkah.

8
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

6- Do you practice Purdah yourself?

More than half of the people said that they practice of purdah and rest of the others do not
practice it.

7- If you practice purdah, is it due to culture or religion?

9
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Majority of the people 64.9%, practice of purdah due to culture, 10.5% do it due to religion and
rest of the others do it for both culture and religion.
8- Do you think that purdah system in Pakistan is more directed to culture as compared to
religion?

Out of the 60 people, 73.3% were said purdah in Pakistan is more directed to culture, while
21.7% said, it is related to religion and rest of the people are not sure about this.

9- Do you think that purdah promotes culture or religion?

Majority of the people 61.7% considered that purdah promotes Culture and only 10% considered
that it promotes religion while 28.3 considered that it promotes both culture and religion.

10
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

10- How do you feel when you see someone in purdah?

50.8% people said that they feel good when they see someone in purdah, 18.6% feel bad, 11.9%
feel brilliant, and 15.3% feel satisfactory, rest of the others feel rude.

11- How do you feel when you are in Purdah?

35.7% people feel good when they are in Purdah, 17.9% feel satisfactory, 12.5% feel bad, 16.1%
feel shy and 8.9% people feel confident and depressed.

11
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

12- Do you consider purdah as a fashion symbol?

Majority of the people do not consider purdah as a fashion symbol, 38.3% people consider it as a
fashion and 13.3% people are not sure

13- Do you think that purdah is a social barrier for the individual progress of a woman?

Out of the 60 people, 61.7% said that purdah is not a barrier in the individual progress of the
women, while 33.3% said yes it is a barrier and rest of the others are not sure.

12
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

14- Do you think purdah promotes feminism?

Majority 43.3% people said that feminism does not support purdah, while 40% said that
feminism supports purdah and rest of the people are not sure.

15- How would you rate the role of purdah in women empowerment?

Majority 31.7% people rated five that the role of purdah in women empowerment, 18.3% people
rated four, 15% people rated three, 16.7% people rated two and 18.3 people rated one in this
survey.

13
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

16- Do you believe that the practice of purdah in lower class is a cultural practice?

75% people said that the practice of purdah in lower class is a cultural practice, 18.3% people
said no and rest of the others are not sure.

17- Which class in Pakistan practices purdah on a large scale?

According to the survey, majority of the people said that lower class practices purdah on a large
scale, only 41.7% said that middle class practices purdah on a large scale and rest of the others
considered that upper class with a large ratio.

14
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

18- Do you believe that practice of purdah in tribal area of Pakistan is a cultural practice?

Out of the 60 people, 86.7% were said in tribal areas purdah is a culture practice, while 22.3%
people said it is not a culture practice and rest of the people said that they are not sure about it.

19- Should men also practice purdah?

Majority of the people 48.3% said that men should not practice of purdah, while 41.7% said that
they should also practice and rest of the others are not sure.

20- Is purdah in Pakistan a cultural norm or religious obligation?

15
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Majority of the people 83.3% said cultural norm is a reason of purdah practice, while 13.3% said
religious obligation is a main reason behind the practice of purdah and rest of the people said
religious obligation and cultural norm both are the reasons.

21- Is purdah practiced due to social pressure in Pakistan or due to religious pressure?

Majority of the people 63.3% said social pressure is a main reason of purdah practice, while 10%
said religious pressure is a main reason behind the practice of purdah and rest of the people said
religious teaching and social pressure both are responsible.
22- Is the practicing of purdah a representation of religious extremism?

16
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Almost 70% people said that representation of purdah practice is not of religious extremism and
21.7% said yes it is religious extremism and 8.3% are not sure.

17
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Discussion
Our hypothesis was purdah is more directed to culture as compared to religion and we designed
questionnaires on this hypothesis and got almost more than 57 responses. The aim of these questionnaires
is to attain our objectives for this research were to find the roots of the purdah system in Pakistan.
Secondly, worth of purdah of in recent era and the third one is why women do purdah. What are the
forces due to which take purdah? For doing this research we’ll be training for the origins of purdah. The
method will be qualitative and quantitative both and our sample will be men and women both to called
data. Our first research question was based on whether purdah is related to culture but not religion.
Keeping in mind the result of our questionnaires.
Majority of the people were of the views that is more directed to culture than religion. Our second
research question was that is purdah enforced on women because of society. Majority of the people said
that it’s based on social pressure and the last one question was that does religion enforce purdah. Majority
of the people were in favor this question. Now, we are coming towards our responses which we got in our
survey. In our responses, most of the people who is aged above 30 years old and majority of the people
who took part in this survey were females and we got these responses form many cities of Pakistan.
Keeping in mind the result of our questionnaires, shows us that most of the people considered that purdah
system in Pakistan is a culture practice and it is s associated with different classes which is existing in
Pakistan. Most of the people were considered that purdah is not a barrier in the individual progress of a
women. They also said purdah is not a part of a physical appearance only because it prevents you from
evil eye of our society. Most of the people who took part in this survey belong from religion Islam then
Sikh, Christianity and many others also. Majority of the people classify the term purdah to scarf and
hijab, dupatta and burkah and rest of the others classify it to veil. There are little more than half of the
people who said that they practice of purdah. According to the survey, majority of the people practice of
purdah due to the culture and rest of the people said they practice due to the culture and also religion.
Now, the question arises here that purdah promotes culture or religion and majority of the people
considered that it promotes culture in our country.
There are half of the people who said that they feel good when they see someone in purdah and some
said, they feel satisfactory, bad, brilliant and rude. According to survey, only 35.7% people said that they
feel good when they are in purdah and rest of the people said they feel shy, bad confident, satisfactory etc.
most of the people do not considered purdah as a fashion symbol in our country. There are more than 40%
people who think that purdah does not promote feminism and only 19 people out of 57 who rated 5
because they said that we should promote the role of purdah in women empowerment. In Pakistan,
according to the result lower class of our country practice of purdah on a large scale. Majority also said
that practice of purdah in tribal areas is also a culture practice. One of the most interesting things here that
most of the people said that men should not need the practice of purdah and they also said purdah is a
cultural norm. One of the major issues which we face in our country is purdah a representation of
religious extremism and majority of the people were totally against it.
Purdah is directly related to culture because it links with the different classes, level of education, place of
residence and your society in south Asian countries. Secondly, it is used for the division of physical space
which separates the woman from the man. Practice of purdah is strictly followed in tribal areas because
they are not broad-minded people. They are even not known the exact meaning of feminism. Basically, in
our country people take wrong concept when they are talking about feminism. Feminism means equality
for both man and woman. It means equal rights for both in every field of life.

18
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

Majority of the people follow the purdah system because of its society. They are very careful about their
status and practice of purdah is also related the status in our country. They considered that women is a
very important part in a family unit. And she is also considered to be weak and needing to protection so
that’s why they use purdah as a shelter.
Pakistan is a moderate Islamic country and majority of the people are Muslim so that’s why they also
practice because Islam enforces purdah and practice of purdah is also related to Islamic culture. Islam said
that purdah is a shelter for woman which protects her from evil eye.

Conclusion
Practice of purdah is strictly followed in tribal areas because they are not broad-minded people. They are
even not known the exact meaning of feminism. Basically, in our country people take wrong concept
when they are talking about feminism. Feminism means equality for both man and woman. It means equal
rights for both in every field of life. Majority of the people follow the purdah system because of its
society. They are very careful about their status and practice of purdah is also related the status in our
country. They considered that women are a very important part in a family unit. And she is also
considered to be weak and needing to protection so that’s why they use purdah as a shelter.

19
Purdah is more directed to culture as compared to Religion.

References
1. Hanna Papanek, 1971. Purdah in Pakistan: Seclusion and modern occupations for
women: National Council on Family relations, vol 33. PP 517-530. No 3.

2. Abdur Rauf, 1987. Rural woman and the family: A study of a Punjabi village in Pakistan:
Dr George Kurian, vol 18. PP 403-415. No 3.

3. Hanna Papanek, 1973. Purdah: Separate worlds and symbolic shelter: Cambridge
University Press, vol 15. PP 289-325. No 3. UK.

4. Carroll McC. Pastner, 1974. Accommodation to purdah: The female perspective:

National council on family relations, vol 36. PP 408-414. No 2.

5. Elizabeth Q, Bulatao & Nasro M. Shah, 1981. Purdah and family planning in Pakistan:
Guttmacher Institute, vol 7. PP 32-37. No 1.

6. Carroll McC. Pastner, 1972. A social structure and historical analysis of honor, shame
and purdah: The George Washington University institute for Ethnographic research, vol
45. PP 248-261. No 4. USA.

7. Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa, 884. Jami at Tirmidhi, vol 1.

20