maritime activities economy and social customs of the muslims of ...

The purdha system is widely in practice among the Muslim women. In the
northern districts of Thanjavur, South Arcot and Chengalpat the women come out
covering the entire body from head to feet with a big white loose mantle.
Thanjavur district, it is more strict. But in the northern districts like Ramanathapuram
and Thirunelveli,the women do not veil with a seperate big cloth like the women in
other districts but they come out with just a veil over the head, that even from the
end portion of the saree. However, the veiling is an accepted custom among the
Coromandel Muslims.
In
The Islamic traditon, the pure Arabic tradition enjoins the veiling the hair and neck
and modest conduct of Musim women. The veiling of face by women itself is not an lskmic
custom. It was prevalent in many cities of the east before the coming of Islam but not in
the cities of Arabia. The purdha system as it is now existing in India was quite
undreamt by the Muslims of the early centuries who had adopted a face veil
and some other fashions for their women. The women folk when they came into
the cities of Syria, Mesapatomia, Persia and Egypt, they appeared with a veil as
a protection for not being misunderstood by the people. The people associated
unveiled women with loose character. Later on it was adopted even in the clties of
Arabia as a mark of civilization and township. Purdha has never been the universal
custom. The great majority of the Muslim women in the world are peasants who
work with their husbands and brothers in the fields. For them, the face veil would
be an absured encumbrance. The head veil on the other hand was universal. The
Egyptian, Syrian, Turkish or Arbian peasant women veiled their face only when they
had to go into the town and then it was a half veil that they wore. In no other
country besides India, the custom adopted by wealthiest Muslim women for distinction
was adopted by all.
Thus the purdha system is neither Arabic nor Arabian in origin. It is Zorastrian
Persian and Christian Byzantine in origin. It has nothing to do with Islam and for
practical reason it has never been adopted by great majority of Muslim women. So
long it was applied only to the women of great houses who had varied interest in life.