Read the poem.
The Pardah Nashin
by Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu was an Indian poet and activist. Known as the
"Nightingale of India," she advocated for India's independence,
social welfare, and equal rights. The Pardah is a religious and
social practice of seclusion in some Hindu or Muslim
communities of South Asia. Women are either physically
separated from males using separate buildings, screens, walls,
or curtains, or they may be concealed by loose clothing and
veils.
Her life is a revolving dream
Of languid and sequestered ease;
Her girdles and her fillets gleam
Like changing fires on sunset seas;
Her raiment is like morning mist,
Shot opal, gold and amethyst.
From thieving light of eyes impure,
From coveting sun or wind's caress,
Her days are guarded and secure
Behind her carven lattices,
Like jewels in a turbaned crest.
How does the speaker's society, which engages in the practice
of seclusion, view women?
Women are fundamentally equal to men even when
they are hidden behind veils.
Women are powerful and have the ability to influence
men with their beauty.
Women must be hidden and protected to ensure
their safety and purity.
Women must be secluded from men since they are
manipulative and strange.