ABSTRACT
One of the most prominent characteristics of Muslim societies is the strict segregation of men and women. This segregation not only pervades public social life, it also affects private relations and the domains in which the private and the public meet, such as weddings and religious celebrations. Social practices are imbued with a strong patriarchal tradition, which gives men the authority to guard the social equilibrium and the relations between the sexes. The segregation of men and women thus creates a boundary which to a large extent determines the structure of the society; it produces the fundamental differences around which social relations, identities and sets of meanings are built. Moreover, boundaries related to this segregation govern the organization of spaces, since they require the creation of separate spaces, of an architecture which protects the integrity of women, of a division of spaces which ensures the sacrosanctity of private spheres. According to some, the logic of Muslim architectural design and the formal aspects of cities can ultimately be traced back to the tradition of sexual segregation.1
