GIRLS SUFFOCATED.
DEADLY INDIAN CUSTOM.
CALCUTTA, May 20. “ Death behind the Purdah ” is the dramatic headline iu a report issued by Dr Crake, the health officer of Calcutta, who says that between the ages of fifteen and tvveny-five years five girls die cf tuberculosis for every boy who succumbs to that disease. Put brutally, he says-, these girls were suffocated behind the purdah. The retention of the purdah system in the densely-populated gullies of a congested city dooms many girls to an early death from tuberculosis. Li a great city it is difficult to secure absolute privacy, at the same timer admitting light and air, as the houses, and narrow lanes are sure to bo overlooked. Therefore the Zenana is" usually situated in an inner portion of the house, which is ill-lighted, ill-ventilat-cd and effectually screened from observation. The purdah is the curtain used for screening women from the sight ci strangers while in the Zenana, the part of the house in which women of high caste families in India are secluded.
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Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 17564, 15 June 1925, Page 4
Word Count
172GIRLS SUFFOCATED. Star (Christchurch), Issue 17564, 15 June 1925, Page 4
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