Queen Hatshepsut DBQ

Joan Espino
Period 7
11/19/10
Ms. An
AP World History
DBQ Essay # 1 (Final)

Queen Hatshepsut was the first female pharaoh who ruled Egypt. She reigned during 1473 – 1458 B.C.E. She first served as co-ruler with her stepson Tuthmosis III, but later took power as a pharaoh herself. Although she was a great ruler, the idea of having a female ruler was unfamiliar to Egyptians and it unsettled them. As an effort to present her in unthreatening guise to make Egyptians feel more at ease, artists depicted Queen Hatshepsut as a male wearing the stylized beards that are traditionally associated with pharaohs. This gesture shows how females are subordinate to males because they did not feel comfortable that their nation was being led by a female. That is why most societies turned to patriarchal rule. This gesture also showed how they did not respect Queen Hatshepsut because they altered her image as a male. Many societies indicated women’s subordination to men’s status through documents showing how women were not able to participate in government duties, not being allowed a proper education and the inequality between slave men and slave women. Many civilizations such as the Aryan, Chinese and the Mesopotamian societies are examples of
patriarchal societies. Patriarchal society is one in which authority rests in the hands of men. Unlike Egyptian societies, Mesopotamian and Aryan societies forbid women to enjoy public authority. In The Gilgamesh Epic, those who have public titles were all men. “A many as there were: their father, Anu; their counselor, the warrior Bel; their leader, Nimurta; their champion the god Enlil. (Doc. 1)” They entrusted men but did not let women participate in government duties. The reason why most societies turned to patriarchal forms of gender status was because of the relative importance of wealth in a society. Women did not have the luxury of education in Vedic India. In many other societies, it was rare for women to have formal education. According to Herodotus’ The Histories, “The period of a [Persian] boy’s education is between the ages of twenty-five to twenty, they are taught three things only: to ride, to use the bow, and to speak the truth. Before the age of five, a boy lives with the women and never sees his father, the object being to spare the father distress if the child should die in the early stages of his upbringing. In my view this is a sound practice (Doc. 6)”, there is nothing that talks about women’s education. In fact, in Document 6, women are more vulnerable than men because if their child dies at a young age, the woman will be the one affected by the death of the child but not the father. Although there is already inequality between slaves and people who belong to free classes, there are even more inequalities between slave men and slave women.
According to the Book of Exodus, “When you purchase a Hebrew as a slave, he will be your slave for six years; in the seventh year he is to go free without paying anything”, men are able to be set free by buying their freedom or be set free by their owners but another law according to Document 5 states that, “When a man sells his daughter into slavery, she is not to go free as a male slave may (Doc. 5)”, slave women cannot be given freedom while slave men can. I think that these laws are unfair because women do not have a choice at all which makes them more subordinate to
men. Even though women do not have as much rights as men, there are documents which show evidence that there is authority that benefits women. There are also documents which show that men made an effort to address the needs of women. According to Advice of lord [nobleman] Ptah-hotep to his son, “If you are wise, look after your house; love your wife without alloy. Fill her stomach, clothe her back; these are the cares to be bestowed on her person. Caress her, fulfill her desires during the time of her existence; it is a kindness which does honor to its possessor. Be not brutal; tact will influence her better than violence; behold to what she aspires, at what she aims, what she regards. It is that which fixes her in your house; if you repel her, it is an abyss. Open your arms for her respond to her arms; call her, display to her your love (Doc. 2)”, this document showed that men made an effort to address women’s needs. I think that this document has an underlying meaning to it though because it says that men should fulfill women’s needs because it is what makes the woman fixed in his house. Although Document 2 shows how men should treat women, Confucius’ Analects shows the effects of men interacting with women. “Of all people, girls and servants are the most difficult to behave to. If you are familiar with them, they lose their humility. If you maintain a reserve towards them, they are discontented (Doc. 7)” This quote is negative towards women because it says that addressing women’s needs were troublesome. “Women really do rule the world. They just haven't figured it out yet. When they do, and they will, we're all in big, big trouble.” This quote by Doctor Leon shows how powerful women can be. During the old times, women were always underestimated. Throughout the years we have been gaining some well-deserved rights and I think that women can just be as powerful as men. If women realized that during the old times, patriarchal societies probably would not have been as strong as it is. Patriarchal societies showed how women were subordinate to men because women weren’t able to have public authority, they did not receive formal education and there were inequalities between slave men and slave women. In the future, I hope that woman will not feel subordinate to men anymore but feel just as powerful as they are.