Purdah (Topical Term)

OED.com, Dec. 3, 2003 (Purdah; (1) A curtain, esp. one serving to screen women from the sight of men or strangers; (2) As typical of the seclusion of Indian women of rank; hence fig. the system of such seclusion; Seclusion)

Memon Madani, M.I. Ḥijāb, 2001: t.p. (pardah ke sharʻī aḥkām)

Wikipedia, Sept. 13, 2006 (Purdah [rom.]; variant form: purda; the word literally means "curtain" in Persian and Urdu; the practise of requiring women to cover their bodies so as to cover their skin and conceal their form; this separates the two genders from each other in all aspects of Middle Eastern culture; women are restrained from participating in many of the activities in which males are prevalent; Purdah is evident in the Islamic world, but is also observed by other communities in the Indian subcontinent; in some societies, purdah is often only practised during certain times of religious significance)

Wikipedia, Sept. 13, 2006 (Hijab; the word is the Arabic term for "barrier" or dressing modestly; some countries refer to hijab as "purdah" e.g., India, Pakistan)

Wikipedia, Sept. 13, 2006 (Gender apartheid; sometimes called sexual apartheid; used to describe sexual discrimination, particularly strict gender-based segregation in some Muslim countries where women are segregated on the basis of sex from men in public and do not enjoy legal equality or equal access to employment or education)

Here are entered works on the social institution of segregation or seclusion of women from public view, especially by curtains, screens, or religious and societal dress codes.