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Aurat (word)

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This article is about the word. For the general meaning of the word, see Intimate parts in Islam.

Aurat is a word which means "woman" in many Asian languages including Bengali, Hindi-Urdu, Persian, Punjabi, and Sorani Kurdish.[1][2][3] It occurs in Azerbaijani as "arvad" and Ottoman Turkish as "avret".[4]

Etymology and socio-cultural construct

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The word "aurat" originally comes from the Arabic word "awrah". In Arabic, the words awrah or awrat denote defectiveness, imperfection, blemish, weakness, genitalia, loins, private parts, pudendum flaw, defect and fault.[3] According to Nurhan GÜNER avrat/avret in Turkish is borrowed from Arabic and is not related to Old Turkic uragut.[5] The word is used in the Quran to denote "privacy", "vulnerability" and "nakedness" as well.[3][better source needed][6][7] Aharôn Layiš' book on family laws among Druze attributes a quote to al-Tanukhi that says "..Women are all nakedness (awrat) and all nakedness should be covered"[8] Moshe Piamenta, in his book "Islam in Everyday Arabic Speech", notes that in the language of the Bedouin, synecdochic usage of word 'awrat' denotes 'woman'.[9] In the Kurdish language, the word 'Aurat' for women is spelled as 'avarat' where as in (Ottoman) Turkish it is spelled as 'Avret'.[10]

Before entering South Asia, it was used in the Persian language in Iran to mean 'woman'. In Mohammad Moin's Persian dictionary, awrah has two different meanings: "nakedness" and "young woman". But subsequently, Iranians started avoiding the word "aurat" for 'women', due to its meaning of "nakedness". In (Ottoman) Turkish, the word 'avret' was used more for common married or adult women, whereas the word "hatun" was used for more respected women.[10] In Ottoman times any unmarried adolescent girl was called "kiz" and her silence was assumed as consent for marriage purposes. Kiz were freer and less controlled, but once married and considered avret their mobility and sexuality came under drastic social control, so that they would not engage in adultery, in order to preserve male right of lineage and patriarchal honor.[10] According to Heidi Stein avrat / avret meaning woman (Arab.“‘aurat, privy parts”) is among 78 early (9th to11th centuries) Arabic cultural words found it's way in everyday Turkish language during first Arabic linguistic import stage through Persian language.[11][12] In Turkish since the twentieth century, use of word avret has been limited to intimate body parts.[10] According to Pashayeva Gunel Bakhsheyish kizi and Musayeva Ilaha Ilham kizi (2019) The word ovrat in Arabic means a married woman, who has a husband; wife– avrat in Turkish language, avrad in Gagauz language, arvad in Azerbaijani.[13]: 34, 35  Kizi (2019) says sufix "عار" [ʻār] {noun} meaning shame (also: disgrace, dishonor, dishonour) too might have come from Arabic. The alternate etymological origin for 'arvad' may be arva (tare) meaning tearing of daughter's relationship from parents while getting married and it's root may be from Mongolian language lexems abra-arba-arva the root ab-av means magic, conjuring in Mongolian language.[13]

Etymology

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Main article: awrah

The word Erva (ערווה‎) first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Leviticus 18:6.[14] The verse reads as follows, with the word erva being translated to nakedness.

None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. I am the LORD.[15]

The term has since been used in the Talmud as both a blanket term for all prohibited sexual acts (עריות‎) and to describe parts of a female considered to be immodest and sexually provocative, including a woman's hair, thighs, and singing voice. The term continues to be used in many other sources of Jewish law and is still used in modern Hebrew today to mean either prohibited sexual acts or sexual organs.

In Arabic, the term 'awrah or 'awrat (عورة) derives from the root ‘a-w-r which means "defectiveness", "imperfection", "blemish" or "weakness". However, the most common English translation is "nakedness".[16]

In Persian and Kurdish as well as Urdu, the word 'awrat (Persian: عورت) derived from the Arabic 'awrah, has been used widely to mean "woman". Consulting Mohammad Moin's dictionary of Persian, 'awrah has two meanings:

  1. Nakedness
  2. Young woman[17]

The meaning in other derivatives ranges from "blind in one eye" to "false or artificial", among others.[18] Traditionally, the word 'awrat, alongside the word za'ifeh (which derives from Arabic ḍa'īf (ضعيف), meaning weak), has been associated with femininity and women who live under the protection of a man. In modern-day Iran, using 'awrah or za'ifah to refer to women is uncommon and is considered sexist language. Instead, the word "zan" is used. In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the word za'if is still used in Tajik and its subdialects.

In Turkish, avrat is an often derogatory term for 'woman' or 'wife'.

Spelling and pronunciation variations

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Languages English spelling Meaning (Fill applicable out of: 'awrah (intimate parts)/ Woman/ Wife In native script Communities, regions and countries of usage Additional note(s)
Arabic awrat, awrath, avrat 'awrah عورة Arab World
Early New

Persian

* Beginning 8th century AD

Classical Persian
  • Beginning 10th century AD
Dari language
Persian Aurat, Awrat Nakedness / Young Woman[19] عورت[20] عورت

زبان فارسی

For Young Woman, the word "Dukhtar" or "Dukht" is used, and for Nakedness, the word "Berahneh" or "Oryan" is used
Ottoman Turkish avrât women عورات
Turkish avrat Woman / Wife avrat Turkey, Northern Cyprus Dated; sometimes used humorously
Azerbaijani and South Azerbaijani arvad Woman / Wife

See Aurats

arvad Azerbaijan, Georgia, Daghestan, Iran
Sorani Kurdish Afrat Woman / Wife

See Aurats

ئافرەت Iraqi Kurdistan Another word for woman is Zhin (ژن)
Indonesian, Malay Aurat 'awrah

See Intimate parts in Islam

عورة Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi Aurat Woman / Wife

See Aurats

औरत / عورت (Hindi-Urdu)
ਔਰਤ / عورت (Punjabi) 		India, Pakistan
Bengali Aorat, Aorot Woman, wife আওরাত, আওরত Bengali Muslims Differentiate with আওরাহ (aorah) meaning intimate parts

Traditional South Asian normative around the word Aurat

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Rudrani Gupta writes Patriarchy provides many definitions for euphemism 'achi aurat' (good woman) to be sacrificial, shy, silent and sanskari (trained in traditional etiquette of obedience and politeness)[21] Snobra Rizwan (2019) in her study on normative in Pakistan's lower middle class highlights following linguistic euphemism.[22]

  • aurat ko baparda hona chahiye {A woman must observe veil (Purdah)}.
  • Islami libas acha lagta hai. {Is mein aurat achi lagti hai; 'I like Islamic clothing. A woman looks good in it.'}
  • Sharam aurat ki zeenat hoti hai {Shame or modesty is the mark of a graceful woman}.

A study analyzed a sample of 588 Punjabi proverbs specifically dealing with gender representation, collected from the dictionary "Saadey Akhaan (Our Proverbs)" by Shahbaz (2004). The findings showed that a substantial number of Punjabi proverbs in the sample targeted female characters in a negative way, while proverbs targeting males and mothers were more positive. This highlights that Punjabi proverbs reinforce patriarchal values and contribute to the perpetuation of gender biases in Punjabi society.[23]

Controversies

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Writing for The Nation, Mona Hassan objected to using the word due to its etymology, saying South Asian men equate women to honor and shame, connecting ultimate reference to woman's breasts and vagina and attempt to control the same as part of their honor. Islamic interpretations and practices widely differ in what parts of women's bodies constitute the intimate, with liberal interpretations limiting to best possible, while conservative interpretations can even include a woman's voice and social existence.[24] The latter process of thinking leads to a culture of female seclusion from public life and subjugation and violation of their human rights.[3][25][26][27]

According to Anjali Bagwe, in South Asia, women are distinguished as "Aurat Jat" (women's caste) in an internalized patriarchal sense which presumes women can not be equal to men and tend to be inferior.[28] According to Rajaa Moini the word 'azad' holds a unique significance in the Urdu language, which inspires reverence, pride, but in the context of women, downright hostility and revulsion.In Pakistan while an azad mulk, a free country, can be cause of celebration and revelry, where as an azad aurat, or a free woman, is faces accusations of cultural degradation, considered like an active threat to the nation at the best, and a justification for brutal violence against her at worst.[29] Those women who attempt any course other than misogynist patriarchal expectations are labeled stereotyped as 'Napak Aurat' (impious woman) and discriminated against.[30][31][32]

Bibliography

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  • Özcan, Asli (2 November 2021). "The Perception of Women in Trabzon Sharīʿa Court Records: Thoughts on Definitions of Women over Gender, Sexuality and Status". Hawwa. 21 (2): 147–171. doi:10.1163/15692086-bja10031. S2CID 243463941.
  • Rahman, Tariq (28 November 2008). "Language, Religion and Politics: Urdu in Pakistan and North India". Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée (124): 93–112. doi:10.4000/remmm.6019.
  • Chapter 2 Familiar and Foreign: Identity in Iranian Film and Literature. United States, AU Press, 2015. over coming gender Goldin Farideh
  • Rezaei-Toroghi, Mehran (May 2020). "The politics of un-truth and the assemblage of sexuality: Revisiting the Foucauldian methodology in studying sexuality in post-revolutionary Iran". Sexuality, Gender & Policy. 3 (1): 36–69. doi:10.1002/sgp2.12010. S2CID 212983241.
  • Lewis, Geoffrey. The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Güner, Nurhan (2013). "Kadınla İlgili Eski Türkçe Bir Kelime: Uragut". Journal of Turkish Studies. 8 (9): 2659–2669. doi:10.7827/turkishstudies.5592.
  • Haeri, Shahla (February 2009). "Sacred Canopy: Love and Sex under the Veil". Iranian Studies. 42 (1): 113–126. doi:10.1080/00210860802593965. S2CID 162260045.
  • Vignato, Silvia (2014). "Sensual subjects in an Islamic epistemological arena: Negotiating the borders of aurat in Aceh". La Ricerca Folklorica (69): 67–81. JSTOR 43897027.
  • Brown, George William (1930). "The Possibility of a Connection between Mitanni and the Dravidian Languages". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 50: 273–305. doi:10.2307/593090. JSTOR 593090.
  • Aggarwal, Neil Krishan (April 2011). "Intersubjectivity, Transference, and the Cultural Third". Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 47 (2): 204–223. doi:10.1080/00107530.2011.10746451. S2CID 144872888.
  • Abbas, Nuzhat (1999). "Conversing to/with Shame: Translation and Gender in the Urdu Ghazal". Annual of Urdu Studies. 14. hdl:1793/12097.
  • Stein, H. (2006). Palatal-velar vocalism of Arabic-Persian loanwords in 16th-century Ottoman Turkish. Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects P.151 to 153
  • Construction and Reaffirmation of Social Gender Stereotypes through the Use of Language The Case of Hindi; Page 13; Eastwards/Westwards: Which Direction for Gender Studies in the 21st Century?. United Kingdom, Cambridge Scholars, 2007.
  • Pilanci, Hulya (1 December 2002). "Anadolu agizlarinda kadin icin kullanilan sozler uzerine bir inceleme". Kadin/Woman 2000. 3 (2): 71–83. Gale A12039222.
  • Csató, Éva Ágnes; Isaksson, Bo; Jahani, Carina (2005). Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion: Case Studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic. Psychology Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-415-30804-5.
  • Sexuality in Muslim Contexts: Restrictions and Resistance. United Kingdom, Zed Books, 2012.
  • Shahidian, Hammed. Women in Iran: Gender politics in the Islamic republic. United Kingdom, Greenwood Press, 2002.
  • Platts, John Thompson. A Grammar of the Hindustani Or Urdu Language. United Kingdom, W.H. Allen, 1874.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Zilfi, Madeline C. (1997). Women in the Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the Early Modern Era. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10804-2. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. ^ Ermers, Robert J. (1999). Arabic Grammars of Turkic: The Arabic Linguistic Model Applied to Foreign Languages & Translation of ʼAbū Ḥayyān Al-ʼAndalusī's Kitāb Al-ʼidrāk Li-lisān Al-ʼAtrāk. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-11306-0. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Awrah (naked) truth". The Nation. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  4. ^ Nfa, Dr Farideh Heyat (5 March 2014). Azeri Women in Transition: Women in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-87170-2. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  5. ^ Güner, Nurhan (2013). "Kadınla İlgili Eski Türkçe Bir Kelime: Uragut". Journal of Turkish Studies. 8 (9): 2659–2669. doi:10.7827/turkishstudies.5592.
  6. ^ Zoepf, Katherine (12 January 2016). Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-698-41147-0. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  7. ^ Idriss, Mohammad Mazher (20 February 2017). "Key agent and survivor recommendations forintervention in honour-based violence in the UK" (PDF). International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020 – via Routledge.
  8. ^ Layiš, Aharôn (1982). Marriage, Divorce, and Succession in the Druze Family: A Study Based on Decisions of Druze Arbitrators and Religious Courts in Israel and the Golan Heights. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-06412-6. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. ^ Piamenta, Moshe (1979). Islam in Everyday Arabic Speech. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-05967-2. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d Zilfi, Madeline C. (1997). Women in the Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the Early Modern Era. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10804-2. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  11. ^ Stein, Heidi (2006). Palatal-velar vocalism of Arabic-Persian loanwords in 16th-century Ottoman Turkish. Ed. Lars Johanson, Christiane Bulut. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 151–153. ISBN 3-447-05276-7. OCLC 71336298. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Al-Hashmi, Shadiya (9 November 2016). The Phonetics and Phonology of Arabic Loanwords in Turkish: residual effects of gutturals (phd thesis). University of York.
  13. ^ a b kizi, Pashayeva Gunel Bakhsheyish; kizi, Musayeva Ilaha Ilham (1 January 2019). ETHNOCULTURAL RESEARCH OF BRIDAL, WIFE AND BRIDAL WORDS IN THE TURKISH LANGUAGES. Vol. 46 ISSUE 03 (APRIL-MAY 2019). Freesia O. N. L. I. N. E. _ D. A. T. A. B. A. S. E. For International Scientific Journals: Gulustan-Black Sea Scientific Journal of Academic Research. eISSN 2346-7541. ISSN 1987-6521.
  14. ^ "Leviticus 18 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". www.mechon-mamre.org. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  15. ^ Leviticus. pp. 18:6.
  16. ^ Wehr Arabic-English Dictionary pg 131
  17. ^ Moin Dictionary, 1994
  18. ^ El Guindy, Awrah, page 141
  19. ^ Moin Encyclopedic Dictionary.
  20. ^ "عورت". موسسهٔ لغت‌نامهٔ دهخدا و مرکز بین‌المللی آموزش زبان فارسی (in Persian). Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  21. ^ Gupta, Rudrani (10 September 2021). "Who Is An Achi Aurat? Dear Society It Is Time To Redefine It". Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  22. ^ Rizwan, Snobra (2015). "Religious identity and discourse in Pakistan: a sociolinguistic study" (PDF). Graz Linguistic Studies. 84 (Herbst 2015): 127–144 – via unipub.uni-graz.at/gls.
  23. ^ Khan, Lubna Akhlaq; Raza-e-Mustafa; Ali, Ghulam (June 2017). "Punjabi Proverbs and Gender: Construction of Multiple Identities". NUML Journal of Critical Inquiry. 15 (1): 67–90, XI. ProQuest 2011260782.
  24. ^ Ozyegin, Gul (9 March 2016). Gender and Sexuality in Muslim Cultures. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-13050-5. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Marching forwards". sister-hood magazine. A Fuuse production by Deeyah Khan. 1 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  26. ^ N.B. (29 January 2012). "Arabic word for 'nakedness,' 'shame' also means 'woman'". Stellar House Publishing. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  27. ^ Shah, Zuneera (4 February 2020). "Asking for consent is revolutionary in Pakistan. That is why Aurat March is creating ripples". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  28. ^ Bagwe, Anjali Narottam (1996). Of Woman Caste: The Experience of Gender in Rural India. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85604-04-6. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  29. ^ Moini, Rajaa (7 September 2021). "The questionable 'freedom' digital spaces enable for women". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  30. ^ Needham, Anuradha Dingwaney; Rajan, Rajeswari Sunder (18 January 2007). The Crisis of Secularism in India. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-8841-8. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  31. ^ Religion, the Secular, and the Politics of Sexual Difference. Columbia University Press. 5 November 2013. ISBN 978-0-231-53604-2. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  32. ^ Imam, Ilina Sen & Zeba (1 March 2019). Dharm Aur Gender. Rajkamal Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-267-3019-3. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

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