influence than Egypt is. There is a free intercourse also between
Turkish, Bulgarian, and Armenian women, which must influence the home
life and the views of the Mohammedan families. Most of them would be
ashamed to take more than one woman, and the Turkish women are
continually comparing their situation and life with that of their
Christian neighbors. They are sad not to be able to read and write, and
they try to give their daughters a better education. But as they see
that their (orthodox) Bulgarian neighbors care more for instruction than
for religion and real education, they, of course, cannot understand till
now, that religion is the root of culture.
Polygamy is by no means prevalent among the Mohammedans of Bulgaria,
indeed it is very rare that a man has more than one wife, but these few
exceptions are productive of great misery. Divorce for very trivial
reasons is not uncommon, but there has recently occurred under my eye a
case of happy reconciliation and restoration through the influence of
Christian friends.
The Mohammedan woman of Bulgaria shares to a degree the freedom of her
Bulgarian sisters, is a power in the home, and, especially if the mother
of grown sons, is much respected and considered. But ignorance is her
curse. Here and there one finds a grown woman able to read, but the mass
are content to let their girls go to school for a few years and then
gradually forget all they have learned. But still I have known some
keenly interested in the reading of Scripture. I recall one visit in a
roomful of women at the festival of Bairam, when a young girl attracted
by the Injil Sherif--the New Testament--in the hands of the Bible woman,
opened it and read aloud the whole of the eighteenth chapter of Luke to
that roomful of deeply interested listeners. As she finished, clasping
the book to her heart, she exclaimed: "Oh, give me this wonderful book,
I must read it all." When we left she followed me to the door, reminding
us earnestly of our promise to send her a book soon. We know that the
book was much read.
Another girl of seventeen, whom Fatima Hanum had taught not only to read
but to love the Book, found great comfort in the prayers and Christian
sympathy of this same dear friend during a long illness. On her
death-bed she said to her mother: "We have lived in darkness, but there
is light and I have seen it!"
We believe the light is beginning to glimmer in more than one Mohammedan
home in Bulgaria. In this city, as in many others, Mohammedan women are
accustomed to spend Friday, whenever the weather will permit, under the
trees in some pleasant spot, and Fatima Hanum with her Bible is a
familiar figure among them--indeed they often send word to her: "We are
going out for the day. Come with us and bring the Book."
In a recent tour I was a welcome guest in several Turkish homes, and
warm approval was expressed by the women of their Protestant
neighbors--only one failing was regretted--"they eat pork," but even
they acknowledged that it wasn't so bad as telling lies, and saying
unkind things about each other; and they begged me to come again and
read to them from our Great Teacher's Book.
XVII
DARKNESS AND DAYBREAK IN PERSIA
One can never forget the first sight of a Moslem woman--that veiled
figure, moving silently through the streets, so enshrouded that face and
form are completely concealed. Men and women pass each other with no
greeting or token of recognition, and if a wife accompanies her husband,
she never walks beside him, but at a respectful distance behind, and
neither gives a sign that they belong together.
A woman's first instinct is to efface herself. Even the poor, washing
clothes in the street at the water-course, pull their tattered rags over
their faces. The Persian expression for women, "those who sit behind the
curtain," shows that their place is silence and seclusion. When the
closed carriage of a princess passes, her servants, galloping before,
order all men to turn their faces to the wall, though all they could
possibly see would be carefully veiled figures. The beggar sitting on
the ground at the street corner is equally invisible under her cotton
_chader_, as with lamentable voice she calls for mercy on the baby in
her arms.
During the month of mourning, we often pass a brilliantly lighted
mosque, where men sit sipping tea or smoking, listening to the tale of
the death of their martyrs, but crouching on the stony street outside in
the darkness, a crowd of women are straining their ears to catch what
they can. Such are the passing glimpses one gets of the Persian woman in
public.
Her real life is lived in the "harem." We realize its meaning, "the
forbidden," when after passing through the imposing street gate, and the
outer court where are the men's apartments, we are conducted to a
curtained door, guarded by a sentinel, who summons an old eunuch to lead
us through a dark, narrow passage into the inner court, or _andaroon_.
Here no man may enter but the very nearest relatives of the inmates, and
they under severe restrictions. As women, we have free access, and this
privilege is shared by the Christian physician, who is welcomed and
trusted. One such gives us this picture.
The _andaroon_ is usually very far from being an abode of luxury, even
in wealthy families, unless the number of wives is limited to one or
two. The favorite wife has many advantages over her rivals, but she is
usually encouraged to set an example of severe simplicity, in respect to
her house and its furnishings, to the other wives; each of whom would
make life a burden to her lord, were marked discrimination shown in such
things. He, therefore, contents himself with reserving the best of
everything for the _beroon_, or outer apartments, where he receives his
own guests. Here are fountains, spacious courts, shady walks, and
profusion of flowers without, while within are large, high-ceiled and
stuccoed rooms, elaborate windows, delicately wrought frescoes, the
finest rugs and divans, showy chandeliers and candelabra, stately pier
glasses brought on camels' backs from distant Trebizond or Bushire,
inlaid tables from Shiraz, and portières from Reshd.
The _andaroon_ presents a marked contrast. The rooms are usually small
and low without ventilation, the courts confined, sunless, and bare; the
garden ill-kept, and the general air of a backyard pervading the entire
establishment. This order is reversed by many ecclesiastics, who in
deference to the popular idea, that to be very holy, one must be very
dirty, reserve all their luxuries for the _andaroon_, and make a show of
beggarly plainness in the part of the house to which their pupils and
the public have access.
The Persian wife seldom ventures into the _beroon_, and when she does,
it is as an outsider only, who is tolerated as long as no other visitor
is present. All its belongings are in charge of men-servants, and the
dainty touches of the feminine hand are nowhere seen in their
arrangement, and her presence is lacking there, to greet its guests, or
grace its entertainments.
When the Khanum suffers from any of the ailments, for which in America
or Europe outdoor exercise, travel, a visit to the seaside, to the
mountains, or to the baths is required, the physician feels his
helplessness. He sees that the patient cannot recover her nervous tone
in her present environment. But there is no seaside except at impossible
distances and in impossible climates. A visit to the mountains would
mean being shut up in a little dirty village, whose houses are mud
hovels, the chief industry of whose women is the milking of goats and
sheep, and working up beds of manure with bare feet, and moulding it by
hand into cakes for fuel. Or, if the husband have both the means and the
inclination, for her sake to make an encampment upon the mountains large
enough to afford security from robbers and wandering tribes, she would
be confined largely to the precincts inclosed by the canvas wall
surrounding the harem. She rides only in a _kajava_, or basket, or in a
closed _takhterawan_, or horse litter, or, as she sits perched high up,
astride a man's saddle, looking in her balloon garments, and doubtless
feeling, more insecure than Humpty Dumpty on the wall. In her outdoor
costume, the Khanum never walks. At best she can only waddle, therefore
she is almost as effectually shut out from this important form of
exercise as the women of China. In both countries the peasant class are
blessed with more freedom than those of higher rank, and the village
women, dispensing with the baggy trousers and in some districts also
with the _chader_, or mantle, swing by on the road with an elastic
stride that would do credit to a veteran of many campaigns.
Travelling in Persia is, for women particularly, a matter of so great
discomfort, that even the shortest journey could seldom be recommended
as a health measure. There are some famous mineral springs in Northern
Persia, but they are usually in regions difficult of access, and often
dangerous on account of nomads and robbers, and they generally have only
such facilities for bathing as nature has afforded. If they really do
heal diseases their virtues must be marvellous, for the sick who visit
them usually stay but a day or two, though they make a business of
bathing while they have the opportunity. To prescribe travel, therefore,
would be about the equivalent of prescribing a journey to the moon, and
to recommend outdoor exercise for an inmate of the _andaroon_ would be
like prescribing a daily exercise in flying, the one being about as
practicable as the other. Should the physician find it necessary on the
other hand to isolate his patient for the treatment of hysteria, which
is exceedingly common, or for mental troubles, which are also very
common, he is equally at sea. No nurse, not even a "Sairey Gamp" could
be found. When it is known that one has a severe illness or visitation
from God, they come, as in the days of Job, "every one from his own
place--to mourn with him."
In cases where absolute isolation has been ordered, as an essential
condition of the patient's recovery, the physician may expect on his
next visit to find the room filled with chattering women, who have
gathered to speculate on the possibilities of a recovery or each to
recommend the decoction which cured some one else, whose case was "just
like this." There is but little watching done at night in the most
severe cases, and a physician is seldom called up at night to see a
patient.
On my first introduction to the _andaroon_, I had little acquaintance
with either Persian customs or costumes. I had been asked to see the
wife of a high dignitary, and on my arrival was at once ushered into her
presence. I found my fair patient awaiting me, standing beside a
fountain, in the midst of a garden quite Oriental in its features. She
was closely veiled, but her feet and legs were bare, and her skirts were
so economically abbreviated as at first to raise the question in my
mind, whether I had not by mistake of the servant been announced before
the lady had completed her toilet. She, however, held out her hand,
which apparently she did not intend me to shake, and I presently made
out that I was expected to feel her pulse as the preliminary to my
inquiries concerning her symptoms; or rather in lieu of them, the
competent Persian physician needing no other clue to the diagnosis. Then
the pulse of the other wrist had to be examined, and I inspected the
tongue, of which I obtained a glimpse between the skilfully disposed
folds of the veil. This woman had been suffering from a malarial
disease, which had manifested some grave symptoms, and I tried to
impress upon the family the importance of her taking prompt measures to
avert another paroxysm. Feeling somewhat anxious as to the result, I
sent the next morning to inquire about her condition and the effect of
the remedy prescribed, but learned to my disgust that the medicine had
not yet been given, the Mullah who must make "istekhara" (cast the lot)
to ascertain whether the remedy was a suitable one for the case, not
having yet arrived.
Seclusion, lack of exercise, the monotony that leaves the mind to prey
upon itself, ignorance, early marriage, unhappiness, abuse, and
contagious diseases bring upon the Persian woman a great amount of
physical suffering directly traceable to the system of Mohammedanism.
One special demand of her religion, the month of fasting, is a case in
point. At the age of seven, the girls must assume this burden, not taken
up by boys till they are thirteen. For a mere child to be deprived of
food and drink, sometimes for seventeen hours at a stretch, day after
day, and then allowed to gorge herself at night, cannot but be a
physical injury.
In illness, no pen can depict the contrast between a refined Christian
sickroom and the crowded noisy apartment, poisoned with tobacco smoke,
where lies the poor Persian woman in the dirty garments of every-day
wear, covered by bedding in worse condition.
Mentally, the Persian women are as bright as those of any race. The same
physician says, "The Persian woman is often neither a doll nor a drudge.
I have known some who were recipients of apparently true love, respect,
and solicitude on the part of their husbands, as their sisters in
Christian lands; some who were very entertaining in conversation, even
in their husbands' presence; some who were their husbands' trusted
counsellors; some who were noted for learning; some who were
successfully managing large estates; some who have stood by me in my
professional work, in emergencies demanding great strength of character
and freedom from race and sectarian prejudice."
But these are the exceptions; scarcely one in a thousand has any
education, even in its most restricted sense of being able to read and
write her own language intelligently. It is marvellous to see how all
the advantages are lavished on the boy, who will have Arabic, Persian,
and French tutors, while his sister is taught nothing. In consequence,
the ignorance and stupidity of woman have become proverbial. It is a
common saying, "Her hair is long, but her wit is short."
In a Persian newspaper, there lately appeared some articles in which,
after apologizing for mentioning the subject of women, the writer spoke
strongly of their present illiterate state. He taxed the mothers with
the great mortality among children, and made the amazing statement, that
in Australia every woman who loses a child is punished by law with the
loss of a finger! He did not venture to prescribe this drastic remedy
for Persia, but says the husbands and fathers who allow their women to
remain in ignorance should be held up to public scorn and contempt, and
that nothing but education and religion will make a change.
Wonderful to relate, this article elicited the following reply from a
lady, which we print as it was written:
LETTER FROM A MOSLEM WOMAN
_To the honored and exalted editor of the "Guide":_--
"I myself have no education, but my two children, a boy and a
girl, have a little. Every day they use your paper for their
reading lesson, and I listen with the greatest attention.
Truly, as far as a patriot's duty goes, you are discharging it.
Your paper is having a remarkable effect on the minds of both
men and women. I rejoice, and am delighted with your love for
race and country, and praise especially the articles
recommending the education of women.
"Some days ago, the children were reading, and I was listening
because I take such an interest in the writings in the _Guide_
that I am constrained to defer the most necessary labors, till
the reading is finished. You have spoken well about the poor
unfortunate women; but first the men must be educated; because
the girl receives instruction from her father and the wife
from her husband. You reproach these ill-starred women, because
they are addicted to superstitious practices. Your humble
servant makes a petition that they are not so much to blame.
"In this very city I know men of the first rank, who have even
travelled in Europe (I will not mention their names) who are
superstitious to an incredible degree. Before putting on a new
suit of clothes, they consult the astrologer and look in the
calendar for an auspicious hour, and if shoes or other articles
come from the bazaar at an unlucky moment, they return them
till the stars shall be more propitious; when they contemplate
a visit to royalty, or to Government officials, they take the
chaplet of beads and cast lots to ascertain a fortunate time.
Is it then strange that women believe in written prayers,
fortune telling, and the _istekhara_? You write that in a
foreign country you have seen men who had fled there to escape
their wives. You are telling the truth, because, indeed, the
women are a thousand times more incapable than the men. And why
should they not be, who always sit behind a curtain wrapped in
a veil? The husband can flee from his wife to a foreign land,
but what of her who is left behind: her arms are, as it were,
broken, her condition remediless, hopeless? For her, there is
but one place whither she may flee--the grave! Look, and you
will see in every cemetery one-fourth of all are men's graves;
the rest are of women who have escaped their husbands by death.
"Again you speak of their ignorance of domestic economy, the
rearing of children, the avoidance of contagious diseases, etc.
When a poor woman is taken to her husband's home, it is true
she knows nothing of these things, and does not make home
comfortable, but by the time she is the mother of two or three
children, she begins to learn; she economizes in food and
clothing; she looks after her children; she adds to her
husband's prosperity. She takes a pride in the home, in which
she hopes to enjoy many happy days; but poor creature! she sees
one day a woman entering her door, who says, 'Your husband has
married me,' She recalls all her struggles for family and home,
and her heart is filled with bitterness. Quarrels ensue, and
her husband, taking a stick, beats her till she is like
well-kneaded dough. Afterwards they both go before the judge,
who without making any investigation of the case, gives
sentence in favor of the man. 'You have not in any wise
transgressed the law; the female tribe are all radically bad;
if this one says anything more, punish her.' Unfortunate
creature! If she is modest and self-respecting, this trouble
falling upon her occasions various illnesses, and she knows not
what becomes of house and children. The neighbor women, seeing
all this, are completely discouraged from improving their
homes, or rearing their children properly, as they say, 'The
more our husbands' circumstances improve, the less they will
care for us.' Why then reproach the women? It is proper to
advise the men, who have learned two things thoroughly from the
law of the Prophet: one I have mentioned, and the other is
this. In the evening when the Aga comes, he first washes
himself to be ceremonially clean and says his prayers to
fulfill the law of the prophet. Then he goes to his private
room, or to the men's apartments. Half an hour does not pass,
till he sends to demand the _ajil_ (food used with intoxicating
drinks, meat, fruits, etc.). The wife makes all ready, and
sends to him. Then the unhappy soul hears from that quarter the
sound of piano, organ, or tambourine, and some women just from
their feelings at such times, become a prey to divers maladies
and untold misery. At one or two o'clock in the morning, the
Aga brings his honorable presence into the _andaroon_. The wife
asks, 'What is this business in which you have been engaged?
How long must I put up with these evil doings?' Immediately a
quarrel ensues; the husband, partially or quite intoxicated,
and not in his right mind, answers, 'What business of yours is
it what I do? If I wish to bring the musicians and dancing
women, I shall do as I like.' Many women, on account of these
evil practices of their husbands, give themselves up also to
wicked ways, and others take to their beds with grief. Should
such a one take her case to a judge, he is worse than her
husband, and should she complain to the religious heads, many
of them in secret indulge in the same vices.
"Why then judge so severely those who are all suffering under
these troubles? Again you say that women should be educated,
but fail to indicate in which quarter of our city is situated
the school which they are to attend. We, in our ignorance of
its location, beg you to point out where we may find it. In my
own neighborhood there are twenty capable girls who are ready;
some wishing to study dressmaking, some sick-nursing,
midwifery, etc. Unfortunately, our nobles and ecclesiastics are
so busy, advancing the price of wheat, speculating on the next
harvest, snatching their neighbors' caps from their heads, that
they have not yet found time to establish a school or
university. I hope, through a blessing on the labors of your
pen, this will all be remedied, and this stupid people awaken
from its sleep. This brief petition I have made, and my
daughter has written it out. As I have no learning, I beg you
to excuse its mistakes and defects." ...
This letter is remarkable as showing that an awakening is beginning in
this country and that some women are feeling its influence; that among
them there are stirrings of a new ambition, and a great dissatisfaction
with their present condition. Moslem ladies, invited to witness the
closing exhibition of a school for missionary children, exclaimed, "When
will our daughters have such opportunities?" A young girl was filled
with the extraordinary ambition to become a doctor, like the lady
physician whom she admired; she came for lessons in English, physiology,
chemistry, and materia medica, showing talent and remarkable
studiousness; but during a disturbance against foreign schools, her
father forbade her coming, so the cloud again shrouded this particular
bright star.
What is the legal and social position of woman? A girl comes into the
world unwelcome; while the birth of a boy is announced and celebrated
with great rejoicings, that of his sister is regarded as a misfortune.
Said a mother, "Why should I not weep over my baby girl, who must endure
the same sorrows I have known? She is of little value; a father of
passionate temper, annoyed by the crying of the sickly infant daughter,
flung her out of the window, effectually and forever stilling the
pitiful wail. He was no more punished than if it had been the kitten who
had suffered from his rage." If she grows up, the grace, beauty, and
sweet audacity of childhood often gain for a little girl a place in her
father's affections; but not to be long enjoyed; an early betrothal and
marriage are the universal custom.
Engagements take place as early as three years old, and the bride is
sometimes then taken to grow up with her future husband. Should one
inquire as to the condition of unmarried women in this country, we are
reminded of the famous chapter on "Snakes in Ireland." There are no
snakes in Ireland. I am credibly informed, that in many places it is
impossible to find an unmarried girl of thirteen, and in the course of
extensive travels, covering a period of more than twenty years, I have
myself met but four spinsters or confirmed old maids. It is needless to
add that these were persons who possessed great native strength of
character and firmness of purpose, and all seemed highly respected in
their own family and social circle. One, the daughter of a Mujtahid, or
highest religious teacher, was thoroughly versed in all the special
studies of her father, who had educated her. She understood Persian,
Arabic, and Turkish, being able to read and write them well, and was
often consulted on difficult points in the Koran, by the Mullahs, who
admitted that she understood it better than they. Another, living in a
large family of several brothers, enjoyed the esteem and affection of
all, and was most sincerely mourned when she died.
These are, however, great exceptions, and considered as directly opposed
to the command of the Prophet. It is regarded as a cardinal sin not to
marry, and our single ladies are often assured the only prospect before
them is of the eternal pains of hellfire, as the penalty for the
obstinate disobedience in this particular. Even the lepers, segregated
in their wretched villages, feel the pressure of opinion and are obliged
to marry in accordance with religion.