In ancient Egypt, women played a large role in society. In theory, women had the same economic and legal rights as the men, which is unlike many other ancient civilizations. Although the rights were different among the different social classes of women, they were still said to have had equal rights. The women in ancient Egypt had rights that only came into effect in our society just in the recent century.
Women had many rights. They were able to manage and dispose of private property. This included land, servants, slaves, animals, and money. Women could be part of a legal settlement, and appear as an equal partner in a marriage or divorce contract. They could execute testaments, free slaves, adopt children, and sue people. She was able to do all these things without a male representative, which was necessary in Greek society.
Egyptian women could have their own property. They were able to receive land as a gift or inheritance or with goods that they received through their employment. The Egyptian property law said that women could claim up to one-third of the property in her marriage. It remained hers throughout the marriage and the husband was free to use it. If there was a divorce the property was to be returned to her and anything else that was stated in the marriage contract. If the husband died the woman would receive of the property and the rest would be divided up between the children and the siblings of the deceased.
Sometimes the law was stretched to benefit certain people. One papyrus said that a childless woman, inherited the estate of her husband after he died. She raised his three illegitiment children that were born to her husband and their female slave. (This was fairly common) Later she married her oldest step-daughter to her youngest brother, whom she adopted as her son, so that they would receive the entire inheritance.
Women in ancient Egypt were constantly making contracts, marriage contracts, divorce settlements, purchases of property, or the arrangement of self-enslavement. Self-enslavement was where a slave (a person in dept to another person) signed a contract for longer than required. People would do this because usually the people having the slaves were upper class people, who would pay for their labor, give them food and a place to stay. With all this a slave didn t have to fend for themselves. The contracts were usually signed for 99 years. Although self-enslavement was illegal in ancient Egypt it was practiced by both men and women.
One example of a contract for self-enslavement was written by a women who gave herself to the temple of Saknebtynis. The contract states:
I am your servant, together with my children and my childrens children. I shall not be free in your precinct forever and ever. You will protect me; you will keep me safe; you will guard me. You will keep my sound; you will protect me from every demon, and I will pay you 1-1/4 kita of copper...until the completion of 99 years, and I will give it to your priests monthly.
Generally, women were allowed to freely go out in pubic, they worked infields and in estate workshops. It is certain that they did not have to wear a veil like the ancient Assyrian women did.
It was considered unsafe for a women to wonder far from her town alone. Even though it was legal for a to travel alone on her own, tradition probably discouraged it. There was a reputation of looseness about a women who traveled alone in ancient Egypt.
Women were not only victims of crime, mostly rape, but they also committed crimes. Even though women criminals were much less frequent than men, they still appeared. One women named Nasmyth, helped in a series of robberies of royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Some women convicts had their noses and ears cut off, while others were asked to commit suicide.
One very important part of Egyptian life was marriage. Men were legally able to marry more than one women. People also married close relatives, such as brothers, sisters, or first cousins. For the most part incest was considered a bad thing, but in the royal family incest was used to protect the dynastic succession.
There was no special age for when a girl could get married. Usually they were married after they got their period, which was at about 14 years old. Some documents say that some girls could have gotten married at the age of 8 or 9.
For a wedding there was no legal or religious ceremony, no special bridal clothing, no rings, no change of names, and no word that meant wedding. A girl became known as a wife after she left the home of her parents and went into her new home with her husband.
the most part, divorce was a private matter, unless requested the government did not interfere. Just about any excuse could have been used for ending a marriage. If there was a marriage contract made up it was to be honored. Usually marriages ended with the women moving back into the home of her parents, allowing both people to get married again.
To the Egyptians the more private parts of marriage were considered very important. They were not modest about sex. People saw life as a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Much of their life was based on this cycle and sex was a big part of it.
The main concern of the Egyptian people was not the spiritual part of the afterlife but more of the fertility part of it. Artificial nipples were put on mummified women and artificial penises were put on men. This was designed so they would be "fully functional" in the afterlife.
Although the total concept of menstruation was not completely understood, many women were able to learn if they were pregnant. If they were unsure if they were pregnant or not, women could go to a doctor who would examine their breasts, eyes, and skin.
Pregnancy was very important to the Egyptians. It was said that a fertile women is a successful women. When a women was pregnant she received the respect of society, admiration from their husbands, and sterile friends. A man was able to prove his manliness by fathering as many children as possible. Babies were seen as a reason for boasting.
If a women was unable to have children, many men would divorce them, even though society frowned upon that. The accepted way to handle this problem was through adoption. Since there was a short life expectancy and a high birthrate, there was always a large number of orphaned children.
It was tradition for a mother to name her child immediately after birth. This was for in case there was a miscarriage the child would have a name in the afterlife. The Egyptian people feared the second death more than the first one. The second death was where the person lost all earthly memory. That was why names were so important. On the coffin they painted spells to make sure the person would not be forgotten.
For the mos part upper and middle class women worked at home with their family. Although this was said to be because of the women s traditional role as a mother and child bearer instead of male domination in society.
As for the males it was traditional for the good son to bury his parents, pay for their funeral, bring offering to their tombs, and to recite the offering formula. If there was no son, the job was given to a brother of the deceased. Since it wasn t shown in Egyptian art, it is presumed that women did not have this job.
In some text it says that women in upper classes held an office. In 13 letters from ancient Egypt it has proof that women having different degrees of administrative authority.
Some women became leaders, such as kings, dowager queens and regents. Some manages both large and small estates. Many women became middle class housekeepers, servants, field hands, and all kinds of skilled workers in the household and in estate workshops.
In Egypt women could and sometimes did hold male positions. They are only a few of these cases and they are exceptions to tradition. They probably represented exceptional women in unusual situations.
One of the most praised titles that was held by a women was by a non-royal woman by the name of Nebet. She was given the title of Vizier. Judge, and Magistrate. Another women was titled Second Prophet or high priest, which at the time was a position held usually by men.
Some women became national heroines. Take for instance Ahhotep, she was known for her role in saving Egypt in a war against Hykoos. She was honored for rallying the Egyptian troops and stopping a rebellion in Upper Egypt in a critical period. She received Egypt s highest military award, the Order of the fly, at least three times. Another example is Queen Hatsheput. While she was ruling as king, she was described as going on a military campaign in Nubia.
It is not certain how many women in Ancient Egypt were literate. It is suggested that the figures are very low, such as 1%. It is certain that the literacy rate for women was far behind the men.
The literacy rate among the women depended on which class of society they were in. Just about all of the lower class women were illiterate. The middle class women, and wives of professional men were as illiterate. It was higher for women of the upper class. There where some women who had administrative jobs that indicate literacy.
Some women were recorded as the senders and readers of a few Egyptian letters. It cannot be certain if they were actually read or written because they could have hired the services of professional scribes.
In the court, many princesses had private tutors and were probably taught haw to read and write. It is likely that the daughters of royal courtiers would have also been educated. Occasionally there are titles of female scribes from the middle class and there is one example of a female doctor. Scribal instruction was an important step toward medical training.
I think it is amazing how the women in ancient Egypt were treated. They had rights and privileges that were only received by our society over a thousand years later, like the right to own property and to have jobs. It is wonderful that in the years B.C.E., society had sense to treat people, no matter the gender equally. It is something that our world as a whole should be proud of and should take after.
This was a report that I did for my grade 10 history class. I decided to add some "girl" sites to it, and feel free to sign my guest book or e-mail me at bellybutton12@hotmail.com. And contrary to my sisters thoughts, I am not an extreme feminists. If you stop to read my page, could you please sign my guestbook, thank you!
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