Parandzha

a loose cloaklike garment formerly worn by Tadzhik and Uzbek women, mainly in the cities. It has long false sleeves, whose ends are attached to the back of the garment. It is put on over the head and completely conceals a woman’s figure. The face is covered by a thick black net made of horsehair and called a chachvan. The Muslim religion, which calls for the maximum concealment of a woman’s face and figure, has supported the custom of wearing the parandzha, which accentuates the woman’s isolation from public life and is degrading, as well as being extremely harmful from the viewpoint of hygiene. As a result of the socialist reorganization of life in Soviet Middle Asian republics, the parandzha is no longer worn.