Mashrabiya - A product for gender segregation?

Fathy’s (1986) five functional roles of Mashrabiya, as described above, define its essential functions. Environmentally speaking, Ficarelli (2009) explains how the window elements automatically activate a convective cycle that is capable of moving air masses from a higher pressure zone to that of a lower pressure zone.

Socially, the role of Mashrabiya evolved into a product for gender segregation, home seclusion and a veiling norm regulator. Nevertheless, it also mediates the architecture and interior experiences, allowing female occupants to observe exterior life without being observed themselves. Almurahhem (2008) adds another dimension through illustrating a poetic picture of the space behind the screen.

She visualizes it as a sensory experience provoker, where women not only socialize and gossip with other neighbouring females but may also use it to hear their children play outside or to call for road merchants to buy objects of daily use.