purdah

The purdah rustled, and the speech was cut short by the entry of a little thin woman, with big rings round her eyes.

Purdah, pur′d, n. a curtain screening a chamber of state or the women's apartments: the seclusion itself.

In the huts there was scarce one piece of furniture, save perhaps a bed or a roll of matting or a ragged purdah.

This had produced a violent revulsion towards the purdah system and the idea of a matrimonial alliance with Gunter Lake.

She came on board to see us, but many precautions to preserve the purdah had to be taken.