page_title: Aurats
section_title: Cultural life  and distinctiveness
hierarchical_section_title: Aurats / Cultural life  and distinctiveness
context_page_description: Aurat are culturally distinct set of women of certain specific Asian descent, with varied linguistic backgrounds of Azerbaijani & Iranian Azeri, Sorani Kurdish, Punjabi Sindhi and Urdu, sharing Hindi and Bengali to an extent
context_section_description: In South Asia word Aurat is more often used to mean woman or wife in Urdu and Hindi languages.  With Islamic conceptual  leanings believing in entire physical being and existence of  a woman to be "Aurat" needs to be covered and restricted from stranger male gaze, the concept developed  requisitioning "Aurats"  to follow elaborate customary protocols which included  "Aurat" had to be hidden with utmost body covering from public and public spaces as much as possible; and many women  believing the narrative that it is  divine  injunction to be followed and hence internalizing religious and customary expectations adopted clothing styles like Chunri (dupatta), Pallu, Ghunghat stoles that could be adjustable and helpful in hiding their hair, breasts and even eyes if needed; the kurta and the gharara, shalwar kameez or Saris; Nikab or Burqas for more conservative Muslim women, besides curtains called Purdah which not only to segregate and being invisible  from men at home but historically  purdah custom could accompany  in public spaces if needed for example a woman would walk behind Mard (husband) so chance of getting stranger male gaze will be lesser or in transport or  recreation facilities or courts a physical Purdah (curtain) would be maintained to segregate them from stranger males; but given the fact that female voice also being "Aurat" for extreme conservative usually a Purdahnashin (Purdah following) "Aurat" need not go or interact in public spaces as much as possible, even their name need not be mentioned but be referred as daughter, sister, wife, mother of so and so. The honor of being izzatdar (honorable) would be reserved for "Aurats" who followed strict  Purdah seclusion system along with strict modesty etiquette and also moral codes of chastity demanding strict loyalty to one's own husband. In this social construct by default, an Aurat has to be Pak Aurat (i.e. pure & pious Aurat) and not being so is  demeaned as 'Napak (impure/impios Aurat). Another side of the same coin would be those "Aurats" who would not come upon expectations of all the strict social distancing with 'stranger men' of Purdah system, would likely be demeaned and many times punished in various ways considering them to be too independent or shameless.
caption: Traditional Muslim Aurat In Niqab
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