Women's Role In Ancient Egypt

Being a woman in ancient civilizations did not usually provide the freedoms, rights, and protections that women experience in modern times. Even today in many parts of the world, women are not considered equal and are forced to hide their faces or wear garments that cover their entire body. At the same time, there were places in the ancient world where women were treated well and given status. If a woman could have chosen where they would have wanted to live during ancient times, one might suggest that ancient Egypt might be the best choice. Women in the ancient world were likely to be treated better in ancient Egypt than anywhere else in the world. Ancient Egyptians valued family and traditions. This allowed women to find the respect that other women in other places were not fortunate to have. For example, in the ancient Roman Empire, women were not given any equal rights as men had. Men could abuse their wives in Rome without fear of penalty. Men could rape and beat their wives as they did their slaves and would fear no consequence. A woman in ancient Rome could have divorced her husband, but the husband would most likely retain the children. Later in ancient Rome, women did eventually get the
freedom to get educated, but in society, freedom lacked a great deal and did not allow them to ever have the opportunity to move into positions of authority. In ancient Egypt, women were allowed several different rights and freedoms as citizens. Women would own property. They were also allowed to enter into contracts, borrow money, and they could even become a pharaoh in very specific circumstances. These freedoms might have been unheard of in other civilizations. For example, in women in Athens would have been regarded as very unimportant in society. The view on women during the age of ancient Athens is that their value was on only their ability to give birth to children. Women in ancient Athens were not considered citizens. Being a citizen was vital because it provided you rights and freedoms that only were given to citizens. In ancient Egypt, we have some evidence through some of the hieroglyphics of the role of women and their position in society.
Some of the evidence suggests that the role of women in society could be elevated in such a way that she might be able to serve in equal roles in legal and business issues as any other men. While there may not have been evidence of marriage ceremonies, there were apparent marriage contracts between men and women. The contracts however did not take away a woman’s rights in society. Women did traditionally serve in the role of taking care of the home and the children, but the difference here is that the women in ancient Egypt could have actually owned that property unlike other places in the ancient world where women would never have had that
right. It should be noticed that Egyptians seemed to have believed in equality for men and women. However, there were slaves in ancient Egypt and all slaves, both men and women received no rights and protections. However, Egyptian women were much more highly regarded in society than any slave. Women did have responsibility to the home and her husband, but the roles of women in society were respected and they were treated well. If any woman had to choose to live in the ancient world, it is clear that being in ancient Egypt seems to be the place where women had the best chance to live a life that would have been much more comfortable when compared to other ancient civilizations. Not only could they have family, it seems they could also find a place in society to be of value and to even make a life easier to live.