zénana - meaning and definition. What is zénana
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What (who) is zénana - definition

INNER QUARTERS WHERE WOMEN LIVED IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
Church of england zenana mission; C.E.Z.M.S.
  • Mughal]] city of [[Fatehpur Sikri]].
  • Bikaner]], 1675

Zenana         
·noun The part of a dwelling appropriated to women.
zenana         
[z?'n?:n?]
¦ noun (in India and Iran) the part of a house for the seclusion of women.
Origin
from Pers. and Urdu zananah, from zan 'woman'.
Zenana missions         
The zenana missions were outreach programmes established in British India with the aim of converting women to Christianity. From the mid 19th century, they sent female missionaries into the homes of Indian women, including the private areas of houses - known as zenana - that male visitors were not allowed to see.

Wikipedia

Zenana

Zenana (Persian: زنانه, Urdu: زنانہ, Bengali: জেনানা, Hindi: ज़नाना) literally meaning "of the women" or "pertaining to women", in Persian language contextually refers to the part of a house belonging to a Muslim, Sikh, or Hindu family in the Indian subcontinent which is reserved for the women of the household. The zenana are the inner apartments of a house in which the women of the family live. The outer apartments for guests and men are called the mardana. Conceptually in those that practise purdah, it is the equivalent in the Indian subcontinent of the harem.

Christian missionaries were able to gain access to these Indian girls and women through the zenana missions; female missionaries who had been trained as doctors and nurses were able to provide them with health care and also evangelise them in their own homes.