Purdah

Purdah

Noun · /ˈpɜːdə/ · a system of seclusion; a period of strict isolation from public life

Definition

Purdah originally refers to the South Asian and Middle Eastern practice of secluding women from the sight of men outside their immediate family — achieved through physical separation, screens, curtains, or covered dress. In contemporary British English, purdah has a second, very widely used meaning: a period of official silence and restricted activity imposed on a government or organisation before a major event such as a general election. During electoral purdah, civil servants and ministers are forbidden from making announcements, publishing new policies, or using public resources to influence the outcome of the vote.

Origin

From Urdu and Persian parda — a curtain, veil, or screen. The word arrived in British English in the 19th century through the colonial administration in the Indian subcontinent, where British officials encountered the practice in its social and architectural forms. By the 20th century, the metaphor of the curtain had been extended to describe any enforced period of withdrawal from public view — most notably in British political and civil service usage, where electoral purdah is now a formal and widely understood term.