Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 229
229 and learnt the sciences and arts from men, and also instructed men in them. In short, they enjoyed all be- neficent freedom. All they were required to do was to cover the neck, head and face when proceeding out of their homes or to wear veils, in order to guard all en- trances through which sinful thoughts might enter their minds. Confining women to their homes and shutting them out from all intellectual pursuits is no part of the teachings of Islam, and was not the way of the Muslims for several centuries. The purdah, or H ij a b prevalent in these days among the Muslims in most countries, is based on political considerations. As the price of a woman’s honour in some countries is calculated in money, which constitutes a shameful insult to womanhood, the Mus- lims dwelling in those countries have, for the more effective protection of the honour of their women, voluntarily placed certain restrictions on their move- ments, which are not imposed by Islam. I have sometimes heard it stated that the Islamic injunctions in regard to safeguarding chastity are an insult to women. This is most surprising, for the cover- ing up of the head and the face is a device to obviate the necessity of men keeping their eyes cast down in thor- oughfares and crowds, the primary injunction being to keep the eyes cast down, which applies equally to men and women. The insult, if any, is, therefore, common to men and women. It is then asked why are women required to cover up their faces; why are not men re- quired to do the same? The answer is that Islam differ- entiates between the functions of men and women. The