p. 32 | Persian Women by Mrs. Florence White-Oster

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C.

FromReview and Herald, Harvest Ingathering Number

Persian Women

By Mrs. Florence White-Oster

BEFORE coming to this country I had read much about the seclusion of Mohammedan women, and thought I knew something about it; but no woman in a civilized country, I think, can comprehend the reality simply by reading of it.

No woman of the better class after marriage is supposed to leave her own yard, or, as is usually the case, the yard of her father-in-law. The houses are surrounded with a high wall so as to shut out the view. No windows are allowed in any house save those that open onto its own court. Not long since we had a small window cut into our back wall, that we might have more light and catch a glimpse of the hills beyond. But no sooner was the opening made than an observing neighbor found that it overlooked his house, and he quietly filled the opening with stones and mud and then boarded it up.

A woman near by tells me that she has not been outside of her own yard since her marriage, twelve years ago, and she is one of the thousands. Think of it! Suppose you could never run out to a store, or over to see a neighbor. And the interior of these homes is not so pleasant as you are accustomed to. The great majority of Persian homes consist of but one room, with no furniture; a rug on the floor, a gun in the corner, a pile or two of quilts and blankets, while a round, deep hole in the ground serves as stove for both cooking and heating purposes. Living this simple life, the women have not the pleasant duties of a real home to occupy their minds and hands. Pray that the Sun of Righteousness may penetrate these darkened homes, where so much need is and so little light.

MRS. FLORENCE WHITE-OSTER.

Maragha, Persia.