/ ˈpɜːdə; NAmE ˈpɜːrdə/ noun
[ U ] the system in some Muslim societies by which women live in a separate part of a house or cover their faces so that men do not see them :
to be in purdah
He kept his daughters in virtual purdah.
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WORD ORIGIN
early 19th cent.: from Urdu and Persian parda veil, curtain.