The Abbasid Caliphate was one of the most powerful empires to rule over the Arab World. From around 750BCE to 1517BCE the Abbasid Caliphate controlled territory that spanned from Northern Africa to the western border of modern day India. This research paper will focus on forms of gender segregation in the Abbasid Caliphate from 760BCE to 1258BCE. For the purposes of this paper I will split gender segregation into two main forms: physical segregation which includes institutions like the harem, and social segregation which includes the citizenship of women and their standing in society. I will also define gender segregation as the separation of people based on how society defines them on a spectrum that ranges from masculine to feminine.
Brief …show more content…
In Abbasid culture women were not meant to socialize with men who were not their men. This left the Abbasids with an interesting dilemma: how were women supposed to do things like go to the market while also keeping themselves separate from men? The solution appeared in clothing. If you compare Abbasid women’s clothes to other women’s clothing, you will notice that the Abbasid women’s clothing is much more modest. The clothing of Abbasid women was longer, had more layers, and covered more of both the body and the face. Abbasid women were generally veiled and completely robed. This coverage is a direct result of wanting to keep the women segregated from the men, as well as an enforcement of the ideals presented in the Quran. Women were also treated differently during religious rituals. In Abbasid culture when a male was circumcised there were parades and parties; it was a big deal. On the other hand, when a female was circumcised it was a small private affair which only women of the family could attend. The reasoning behind this difference is harder to ascertain. Popular belief among scholars of the period is that the smaller female-only ritual helped to keep the girls pure during the
Brief …show more content…
In Abbasid culture women were not meant to socialize with men who were not their men. This left the Abbasids with an interesting dilemma: how were women supposed to do things like go to the market while also keeping themselves separate from men? The solution appeared in clothing. If you compare Abbasid women’s clothes to other women’s clothing, you will notice that the Abbasid women’s clothing is much more modest. The clothing of Abbasid women was longer, had more layers, and covered more of both the body and the face. Abbasid women were generally veiled and completely robed. This coverage is a direct result of wanting to keep the women segregated from the men, as well as an enforcement of the ideals presented in the Quran. Women were also treated differently during religious rituals. In Abbasid culture when a male was circumcised there were parades and parties; it was a big deal. On the other hand, when a female was circumcised it was a small private affair which only women of the family could attend. The reasoning behind this difference is harder to ascertain. Popular belief among scholars of the period is that the smaller female-only ritual helped to keep the girls pure during the