ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses mainly on the non-linguistic aspects of purdah as signs made corporeal by the female body. It discusses how these signs are given meaning in a zone of experience where tacit knowledge is transmitted through non-verbal means. The chapter also focuses on corporeal aspects of purdah such as control of gaze, voice, mobility, use of space and cloths through a contextualization of conventional practices of female seclusion. Female seclusion in the form of purdah is only one entry on the long list of practices that in various ways, more or less drastic, modify a woman's perception and control of her body. The ensuing confrontation between lived experiences of purdah and its representation in public discourse is another impetus to rethink anthropological theories about purdah. The restrictions of purdah are at their height for young unmarried girls and married women.
