AMANULLAH

cult which was said to be spreading through India and
the whole of the East. Even the Turks, fellow-Islamites,
were said to be affected by the peril. Afghans, if they
valued the sanctity of their homes and the chastity of
their wives, would have no truck with this new and
Satanic doctrine.

For already the word had been whispered. Already
it was murmured in the bazaars of Kabul that strange
proposals had been made in Court circles. The rumours
were to the effect that women would henceforth con-
tribute to the progress of the country in other directions
than the bearing of innumerable children. Freedom was
a word much heard these days. But when the two words
" freedom " and u women " were mentioned in conjunc-
tion, thought the mullahs, then the danger signs were
showing.

Turkish girls were already to be seen in Kabul. The
wicked Kabulis had grown accustomed to the spectacle
of infidel women without head coverings, but the sight
of Mahomedan women in the short skirts and diminutive
hats of the West caused them many qualms » There
were occasional disturbances in the city. There were
ugly rumours that by the force of example-, an attempt
was to be made to seduce the Afghan from the austerity
of the purdah laws.

The rules of the purdah, of course, are well known to
be indefensible on any but religious grounds. To those
who have never come in direct contact with them they
are incredible. Yet the basis of every one of them is
the same, and it will be recalled that there can be seen
in many museums the "body locks" which English
gentlemen compelled their womenfolk to wear while
they sallied forth to the Holy Wars,

Even more urgently are strict laws required in the
East, but it can be said that the efforts to prevent com-

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