From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpurdahpur‧dah /ˈpɜːdə, -dɑː $ ˈpɜːr-/ noun [uncountable] 1 RRIthe custom in some Muslim and Hindu societies in which women stay indoors or cover their faces so that men cannot see themin purdah The bride remains in purdah until the wedding.2 a period of being alone, especially to keep something secret 18 months of self-imposed purdah
Examples from the Corpus
purdah• We think we have to fight purdah and fundamentalist tenets.• She has spent her married life locked in purdah in a castle.• It represents a small assault on the bastion of purdah.• Here on the dang strict purdah is impractical and everyone understands this, brothers-in-law included.• None the less, after about eighteen months in technological purdah, he emerged, having resolved most of the equipment problems.• A cavalier attitude to purdah was one thing; for a woman to be seen exposing her nether regions quite another.Origin purdah (1800-1900) Hindi parda “screen, veil” 