purdah

noun

1. (South-Asia, also, countable, figuratively)A curtain, especially one used in some Hindu or Muslim traditions to conceal women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers.

   “As she passed through the dining-room she heard, behind the purdah that cloaked the drawing-room door, her husband's voice, […]”

   “"Come and see my wife a little then," said Hamidullah, and they spent twenty minutes behind the purdah.”

2. (broadly, countable)A long veil or other attire covering most of the body, worn by women in some Muslim societies.
3. (broadly, uncountable)The situation or system of secluding women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers, in some Muslim and Hindu traditions, by using a curtain or screen, and/or wearing a face veil or attire covering most of the body.

   “He was won by her love for him, by a loyalty that implied something more than submission, and by her efforts to educate herself against that lifting of the purdah that would come in the next generation if not in theirs.”

4. (broadly, figuratively, uncountable)Keeping apart; isolation, seclusion; also, concealment, secrecy.

   “The diagnosis of Kit's malady was soon verified, and Fleur went into purdah.”

   “Still, though the lettrist movement was not casual—members might be fined, put in purdah, or even expelled for malingering—aesthetic pluralism remained in effect.”

5. (UK, broadly, countable)The period between the announcement of an election or referendum and its conclusion, during which civil servants refrain from making policy announcements or taking actions that could be seen as advantageous to certain candidates in the election.

   “Despite Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris's reassurance that "the White Paper is coming" it was further delayed by the period of purdah that preceded local elections held on May 6.”

6. (broadly, obsolete, rare, uncountable)A striped cotton cloth which is used to make curtains.