In the past, women have been generally regarded as inferior to men. This can been seen through the way women were treated in society, having little rights and freedom, and subjected to the whims and fancy of their husbands. They were regarded as not only mentally inferior to men but also physically inferior. In addition, they were seen as evil and a master of seduction. In Greek mythology, for instance, it was said that a woman named Pandora, brought disaster and suffering to mankind by opening the forbidden box. Ancient Roman law condemned women to be forever inferior to men.

In Ancient Rome, the head of the family, the "pater familias", who is the father of the family, owned everything and everyone in his home. He had the legal right to punish any member of his household with death, if he chose. He could sell his children into slavery, if necessary, and, if he had two or more sons, he might as well give one to a friend who had none. In contrast, the mother in the Roman family had no legal rights and no involvement in the public affairs of Rome. It was the role of the mother to look after the children and, in poorer families, to do all of the domestic work herself. She was allowed more freedom, however, than many of her contemporaries in other lands. She could visit friends and go to the Forum, the baths, the public libraries, the temples and the shows at the amphitheater.

In ancient Greece, the women were considered to be non-citizens of the country. The women of Athens -- the wives and daughters of citizens -- lived in comparative seclusion. They had separate rooms from the men in their houses and they were not usually allowed to go into the streets except under supervision. An Athenian wife was considered a domestic manager and the bearer of children, and little more. She had no legal status but was under the protection of her husband. In ancient India, women at the start could own property and was not bound by marriage. However, when Hinduism developed in India around 500 BC, women had to obey their husbands, walk behind them, could not own property and could not remarry. In both East and West, male children were preferred over female children.

In traditional Chinese society, a woman had no right to go to school, of which only the men could, and had to serve her husband and her husbands' parents, bear sons and do all the household chores. In addition, a woman who committed adultery was strongly condemned by the society and regarded as a disgrace to her family. The husband, ironically, was allowed to have as many wives as he liked. The same went for the Sumers of Mesopotamia, where the adulterous wife was sentenced to death while the adulterous husband was spared.

Interestingly enough to note is that, in ancient Egypt, women, however, had almost as many rights as men. They could barter goods, own property, get a divorce. Women were even allowed to succeed to the throne! Although, in fact, the pharaoh owned all the land in ancient Egypt, landed property was passed through families from mother to daughter. If a woman should die before her husband, he lost the use of their land -- which was instead inherited by a daughter and her husband. So it seemed as if the women in actual fact, enjoyed a slightly higher status than men! Even in the modern society, women are still regarded as inferior in men. Note how even the english language discriminates women:

However, I would say that discrimination against women has been minimized and women are having more rights and protection from the state. For example, in China today, the ranking within the family has been abolished with the creation of the new marriage law in 1950 and the campaigns of the early 1950s, where women were granted full equality with men in areas such as marriage, divorce, and property ownership. During the 19th century, women were given more opportunities in education and the professions. Women began to form organizations, which demanded for more women rights and provided protection for the women against the men. Examples of such organizations are 9 to 5 the National Association of Working Women, the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Women Library Workers, the National Federation of Press Women, the International Association of Women Police, and the Women in Sales Association.

Now, with all these movements to ensure that the position of women in society is raised, does it mean that all women have actually gained the same status as men? Would there be a possibility that women's status would one day exceed men's? Or is it a universal fact that women will always be, in some way or another, inferior to men? Interesting questions to ponder over, isn't it?

In the 1980s, with so many women joining the work force, the "dress for success" look by Louis Dell'Olio became popular.

Painted models of women from the 11th dynasty Egyptian tomb of Meketre are depicted weaving cloth.

Anna Howard Shaw, left, and Carrie Chapman Catt, center, lead a woman-suffrage demonstration in New York City in 1917.