WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
An insubordinate or troublesome odalisque may soon find herself singled out for punishment if she offends the Chief Eunuch. It is said that eunuchs of all ranks frequently accept bribes from the women of the harems, and that some become very rich from this source. Every ambitious girl yearns to shine in the palace as an ikbal, and it is within the eunuch's power to assist her in this promotion from the common file to a position of high privilege.
The Chief Eunuch needs to exercise much vigilance in protecting the favourites of the pasha. Jealousy is extremely common in the harems, and all kinds of plots are hatched against the ikbals to bring them into disfavour with their lord. Attempts are sometimes made to poison the favourite of the pasha. Envy engenders all manner of malicious chatter and deliberate slander. The making or the undoing of an ikbal rests largely in the hands of the superior eunuch and those immediately beneath him in rank and influence.
In an affluent pasha's harem the highest caste among the ladies are the Kadens, the beautiful Circassians, who are especially loved by their owner. The Odalisques come next; and these women are the attendants, or maids of honour, on the pasha. The favoured woman of a brief reign is the Ikbal. When she becomes pregnant she is raised to the status of a Kaden. The Oustas are female servants of the house-
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