Ancient Egypt
As the cradle of civilisation and the monumental location of which one of the oldest advanced human society is found, Egypt plays a huge role in anthropology. The role of women in Egypt thus is of much significance. By comparing the predominant patriarchy in Egypt today with the balance struck between males and females in Ancient Egypt, we can examine how the struggle between males and females has changed throughout the years.
Women and men in Egypt before Christ share the same legal status. This applies to women and men of all social classes, with the exception of slaves. Women could inherit and manage her private property including land, slaves and livestock. When a woman marries, her property still remains under her control and will not be taken away by her husband in the event of a divorce. Even during the period Egypt was conquered and ruled by the Greek Empire (beginning in 332 B.C), the Egyptian women were significantly given more legal rights than the Greek women who were subjected to the Greek social system. Egyptian women were also entitled to sue at law without a male representative, in much contrast to the Athenian women who were considered irrational and needed males to make decisions for them.
There was also little social stigma of widows in ownership of their deceased husband's property and taking care of the remaining family. Men could pass all of his assets to their wives and in some cases the men could adopt their wives so that they could receive not only the inheritance of the wifely portion but also of the portion reserved for their children. In addition, re-marriage for widows is not frowned upon, and in fact is largely common.
The gender equality in Egypt may not however fulfill the connotations of equality today, where many feel that women and men have interchangeable roles. In Ancient Egypt, women and men are ascribed different social roles due to their biological function and are respected accordingly by fulfilling their roles and performing their duties well. This is because Egyptians largely believe in the natural order of the universe and men and women accepted their different social roles.
Therefore, the women whom are viewed in high regard are the ones who have given birth. The occupations of women are also restricted mainly to the domestic realm. If a woman was sterile, the man could divorce her under those grounds. However, this was largely frowned upon and adoption was encouraged. Women could handle adoptions themselves as well without a male representative.
Men were regarded as the head of the family in Ancient Egypt, but they treated their wives with respect. Relationships in Egypt are highly valued and the people were free to show love and affection towards each other. Therefore, marriage was not a forced customary but an independent choice of both the woman and man. (This is contrasted to how Athenian men married out of a sense of civic duty and how many other cultures even today have arranged marriages.) Hence, at the same time while women had a freedom of choice in matters of marriage, she could also choose not to marry and live by herself.
The Egyptian woman could also trade in the marketplace and were free to move out of their homes even though they usually work indoors. She ate at the same table as her male counterparts, partied and got drunk.
As Caroline Seawright states in her online publication, Women in Ancient Eygpt, "Egyptian women had a free life, compared to her contemporaries in other lands. She wasn't a feminist, but she could have power and position if she was in the right class. She could hold down a job, or be a mother if she chose. She could live by herself or with her family. She could buy and sell to her heart's content. She could follow the latest fashions or learn to write if she had the chance. She loved and laughed and ate and drunk. She partied and got sick. She helped her husband, she ran her household. She lived a similar life to that of her mother and grandmother in accordance with ma'at [natural order of the universe]. She was an ancient Egyptian woman with hopes and dreams of her own... not too much different from the woman of today."
As compared to the incredible inequality between men and women today in Islamic Egypt, the freedom enjoyed by women in Ancient Egypt serves as a great contrast. Islam has been regarded by many to be a religion that subjugates women to men's rule. This will be further examined in the article under Oppression by Males concerning Islam in our site.