Women's Rights In Ancient Egypt

Throughout history, men typically dominated societies. Men have always appeared to have more respect and rights than women, depending on certain civilizations. In societies like Egypt, men were frequently pharaohs and today, are considered to be great rulers. Women were often expected to take the job of motherhood in Egyptian society. Although this was their anticipated responsibility, women, usually upper class and royal, were still permitted to get an education, to possess property, own businesses, have a job and be involved in military control. Women could also rule as pharaoh, which was an infrequent occurrence but did sometimes happen. Hatshepsut, for example, is one of the few women who became a pronounced leader in the ancient

The role of women within Egyptian society was a highly complex one. Differing depending on their particular class and place within the social hierarchy, the women of ancient Egypt are often described as the most legally free and equal of any ancient civilisation.

The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.

However, in Mesopotamia, the males subjugated the women. To stop married women from tempting other men, they were forced to cover their bodies, except for their faces, with veils. Women in Mesopotamia were often arranged into marriages, without a say on the subject. The Mesopotamian women had little impact on their society, while certain Egyptian women were able to gain highly influential positions in their society. One Egyptian woman even became the Queen of Egypt, alongside her son. Due to Egypt being less strict towards the women, Egyptian women were able to have a greater influence on their society. Although both civilizations were patriarchal, they varied on how strict they were towards women.

Throughout history women have faced many struggles in gaining equality with men. Freedoms and boundaries have been dependent upon the time period, rulers, religions and civilization. Ancient Greek women and Ancient Egyptian women were both equal to men as far as the law was concerned in certain areas; however, their equalities were different in the sense that Greek women were married out of necessity and viewed as property while Egyptian women were respected and loved by their husbands. Ancient Greek women and Ancient Egyptian women also both lived with limitations such as being thought of as domestic servants, yet these views solely depended on the time and polis.

In Egypt, although men were the dominant gender in society, women were treated with great respect, which led to a very stable and successful society. The Egyptians believed that the goal of life was happiness and viewed home and family life as the main source of it. Egyptian law basically treated women as equals for the most part. Women were allowed to hold positions of power, own property, own slaves, receive an education, and even borrow money. Although Pharaohs were normally men, certain circumstances allowed for women to hold the same title. The Egyptians believed that marriage and family were very important aspects in life. They believed that unconditional love and kindness were vital in a marriage and thought that husband and wife should always treat each other with respect. In regards to family, unlike many cultures that viewed children as another mouth to

Men had privileges that woman did not have. Some laws protected the women in some ways, for example, “if a man divorced his wife because she did not bear him a son, he had to provide her with money”. (3) Other laws direct to the thought of women being way less than men. Where women’s word does not matter, only her negative actions and they are equally punished. The Mesopotamian government shows more violent solutions to their crimes and the Egyptians themselves.

One of the most striking differences between ancient Athenian women and ancient Egyptian women was the ability to hold positions of power. Egyptian women were monarchs and held other positions depending on their social status. (Capel 1996, 176) Women were allowed to participate in low ranking government jobs, especially during war when the men are off fighting and leaving behind their positions. However, these positions were not kept for long because the men upon return automatically earned their position back by being the superior sex (Watterson 1991,).

Women had a relatively high status but it was very rare for a woman to become pharaoh which makes Hatshepsut even more fascinating. “Hatshepsut was one of the most successful pharaohs that reigned in Egypt.” (Historyforkids.com) She came to the throne in 1478 BC becoming the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty and the second woman to rule over Egypt. After her father died, her nephew Thutmose III became pharaoh and she was appointed to help him

Even though they both did not share an equal status with the males in their respective societies, ancient Egyptian women did enjoy more freedom and equal treatment, as opposed to ancient Roman women. Despite the fact that Roman women were not confined to their homes, they were throughout their lives subject to the authority of the men in their lives, unlike Egyptian women who did not require a male guardian to act on her

Women could even own and manage their own slaves and servants. In ancient Egypt, there was the concept of “joint property”, similar to how we can share assets with our significant other today. Joint property was property was acquired by a married couple during their marriage. The husband would have use of the join property, meaning he could dispose of joint property without his wife’s permission, but if a husband sold or disposed of a piece of his wife’s property which she had brought with her into the marriage, he was legally liable to provide his wife with something of equal value. Women had claims to up to one-third of all the joint property in her marriage.

They were revered so not because they were women, but because they held positions of power and ruled over the entirety of Egypt. In contrast, women in the lower classes worked as artisans, weaving, perfume making, and other things. Women in Egypt were expected to work in home, as the responsibilities of a mother came first. However, women were also allowed to own and sell property, serve as witnesses in court cases, and many other things that were otherwise considered scandalous. However, the women’s expectations in society were often unfair, as many lower-class women were not able to access positions of business or government, reflective of their standing on the Ancient Egyptian social pyramid.

Ancient cultures treated women more as property than people. The cultures that I will proceed to talk about are Mesopotamia, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans and how differently yet how equally treated women. Women were more of a household decoration to the men of each culture, all they did was cook, clean, and be a mother to the children. When the men got home the women were expected to make him happy no matter what.

Yet they do have the chance to examine at what proofs they have and a lot though it’s extremely difficult they try their best to connect those pieces together. It is fairly obvious that women appreciated a position with the same legal and economic rights as the Egyptian male within the same social class, and even of some nations today. In the ancient world the role of women in ancient Egyptian was very unique. It is in no doubt that the social position in Egypt was solely based, not on whether an individual is female nor male, but on the social of a person. While on the contrary, the ability to move through a social class is completely impossible for

While women in ancient Egypt were not free in terms of most of today’s societies, neither were men. Neither man nor woman knew anything of the modern concept of liberty and equality. Their society was hierarchical, and not based on free will. During the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history, Greek women enjoyed a much higher status living in Egypt, than they would have back in Greece, “It has been suggested that perhaps Greek women observed Egyptian women