Although the media seems to associate Islam solely with Arab people, Islam has spread throughout much of the world, with sizable communities in many countries, including India. The intent in this paper is to briefly compare Indian Islamic women with Arabic Islamic women.
One of the striking things about the major world religions is how they are modified in expression by the culture in which they are embodied. Culture influences expression, particularly in the area of tradition.
Islam reached India through conquest, as it did for many places throughout the Middle East. However, the Islamic conquerors did not seek to impose Islam on all of India, but allowed for the coexistence of other religions, primarily Hinduism.
The cultures of the Arab world and the Indian world were quite similar, in some respects, in their treatment of women. Both were expected to maintain their purity, upholding the honor of their families and culture in this way. One of the main stories in India is the story of Ram, in which the purity of his wife Sita is challenged. She survives the challenge, but still is exiled. This is a primary story for Indian culture.
Purdah is one of the expressions of Indian culture. Essentially purdah involves the seclusion of women to inner courts in the family compound. Although purdah gradually broke down over the modern era, it is not until quite recently that Indian women left their homes for other than the most urgent of reasons.
This seclusion likewise was prescribed for Indian women who were Islamic and dovetailed well with the focus on modesty and purity within Islam. The veiling and covering that Arab Islamic women engage in is almost a form of mobile purdah, ensuring them privacy and separation from the public, even when they have to leave their homes.
In the early women's movement in India, both Hindu and Muslim women fought against this seclusion. Muslim
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