It is a universal phenomenon—that time of day when women take a collective break, set aside their tasks, and socialize.

Ruth, a single Frontiers worker in South Asia, calls it the Golden Hour. Ruth recently wrote,

“I live in an old, traditional neighborhood. Families have been here for generations, living on the narrow streets where their kids are free to run and play.

“Most of the women here have limited freedom to come and go. They usually stay tucked away at home, and they are hard to find out in public during the day.

“But during the Golden Hour, they are easy to find. The Golden Hour happens during late afternoon, just as the heat of the day begins to ebb. The laundry gets pulled off the lines strung up on flat roofs and verandas, and then the women relax and go for walks with their friends through the neighborhood.

“This is when I get to join them, strolling alongside them during their Golden Hour, chatting as best as I can and laughing at my own verbal mistakes.”

In parts of the Arab Gulf, the Golden Hour falls around mid-morning. Women emerge from the high walls of their homes with veils skillfully folded to shield their eyes from the bright sun. They stroll through dry dusty streets, carrying their carafes of cardamom-infused coffee to share with other neighbor ladies in exchange for the day’s gossip.

In North Africa, the Golden Hour begins in the late afternoon just as the day’s heat starts to fade. People wake up from their post-lunch slumbers with a collective stirring. Children get stir-crazy and spill out into the streets—the boys heading to empty lots to play soccer while girls sit in the shade and play hand games. Meanwhile, women roll out their woven mats onto shaded side streets. They recline and chat over carefully brewed glasses of syrupy mint green tea.

Is there a Muslim community in the place where you live? What’s their Golden Hour? Why not join them one day this week?

Original article: FrontiersUSA.org/blog/article/the-golden-hour