Purdah literally means curtain and is the practice of concealing women from men. According to one definition: Purdah is a curtain which makes sharp separation between the world of a man and that of a woman, between the community as a whole, and the family which is it heart, between the street and the home, the public and the private, just as sharply as it separates society and the individual.
Purdah exist in various forms in the Islamic world, and among Hindu women in parts of India. Wikipedia source
These pictures show how the architecture was influence by the practice of purdah. The walls of the palace were designed so the royal women of the harem could view court life or the happenings outside the palace walls. Stuff like this baffles me. These rulers had anywhere from 4 to 14 official wives, 100s of women, concubines, and slaves in their harem. They hid them not just from the world but even in the palace. One guide told us that Akbar spent most of his time in the battlefield and only a few years in his palace. My response...uh, with 14 wives at home, it was safer in the battlefield! Honestly!
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