A short history of the Harem

Our idea of a harem has been largely dominated by the reports and artwork of the early adventurers to Egypt and the Middle East. These young men - cut off from native women and genearlly in a state of sexual frustration - found the idea of a locked building full of women enticing to say the least. Artists who traveled in the 19th century 'took prime attention in the harem'; it's noticeable that their images tend to concentrate particularly on the bath areas and the guard.

The harem in Islamic society was a rich man's way of interpreting the words of the Koran: 'good women are obedient, guarding the unseen because god has guarded them'. In the harem women are unable to defile themselves. In all Muslim houses the women's quarters are forbidden to outsiders and women will retreat to their areas when a stranger is about. These limitations on women's movement were once defined as: 'a woman should leave her house only on three occasions - when she is taken to the house of her husband, when her parents die, and when she is carried to her own grave'.

The harem was populated by the ladies of the house, and given that families were large and that any one man could marry four wives, could be very large indeed. Concubines were also allowed; big harems could reach as large as 300. Visiting groups of women would be entertained in the harem, and a hierarchy developed within.

Even today segregation of men and women is a common feature of Egyptian society; the harem was merely a reflection of this for the rich and conservative. Segregation in the home is common today, especially in the countryside, and some women are veiled outside. Women's rights in law are gradually increasing but change is very slow, with resistance from rising Islamicism and neglect by the authorities.