page_title: Ghoonghat
section_title: Medieval period
hierarchical_section_title: Ghoonghat / History / Medieval period
caption_attribution_description: हिन्दी: हिन्दू विवाह सम्प्रदाय - जयपुर, भारत. English: Hindu wedding in process, Jaipur, India.
context_page_description: A ghoonghat is a headcovering or headscarf, worn in the Indian subcontinent, by some married Hindu, Jain and Sikh women to cover their heads, and often their faces. Generally aanchal or pallu, the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head and face to act as a ghunghat. A dupatta is also commonly used as a ghungat. Today, facial veiling by Hindu women as part of everyday attire is now mostly limited to the Hindi Belt region of India, particularly Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
  Facial veiling is not sanctioned in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism but some sections of the society from the 1st century B.C. advocated the use of the veil for married women, which came to be known as ghoonghat. It has been both romanticized and criticized in religious and folk literature.
context_section_description: In Kathāsaritsāgara written in the 11th century AD, heroine in the story Ratnaprabhā protesting: "I consider that the strict seclusion of women is a folly produced by jealousy. It is of no use whatsoever. Women of good character are guarded only by their own virtue and nothing else." Rational opposition against veiling and seclusion from spirited ladies resulted in the system not becoming popular for several centuries.  However, it is notable that some section of society from the 1st century B.C. advocated the use of the veil for married women. There is no proof that a large section of society observed strict veiling until the medieval period. 
  Under the Islamic Mughal Empire, various aspects of veiling and seclusion of women was adopted, such as the concept of Purdah and Zenana, partly as an additional protection for women, they were abducted so to prevent the consequences veil became necessary. Purdah became common in the 15th and 16th century, as both Vidyāpati and Chaitanya mention it. Sikhism was highly critical of purdah; Guru Amar Das condemned it and rejected seclusion and veiling of women, which saw decline of purdah among most classes during this period.
caption: A Hindu bride with full veiling during Hindu wedding ceremony in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
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