An Egyptian woman was customary obligated to bear children and be a mother. They functioned as middle class leaders of their houses. They could govern their children, servants, skilled workers and any field hands in their homesteads. The women were free to work either in fields’ or workshops and provide for their families. The woman was obliged to take care of any property owned by the husband. She had the responsibility of managing her home and maintaining the status of the husband.
Rights of women in ancient Egypt.
Unlike in other ancient societies like in Greece, Egyptian women seemed to enjoy most of rights as men. The law recognized the rights of women. The Egyptian woman had the right to own and dispose property at her will. She had the rights to administer her property and conceal any legal acquisitions against her property. She had the right to proceed with any legal transactions on her property without the help of her husband. An Egyptian woman was not restricted from ownership of any property. For example, she could own land, Slaves and servants, livestock and money and inherit trusteeship of property. Under the law, the woman was entitled to a third of her husband’s property (Piccione, 1995).
Her private acquisitions remained hers, though the husband could use them freely. In cases of divorce, the woman was entitled to a third of her husband’s property and the rest divided among her children and the community. The Egyptian woman had the right of contract. This included signing employment contract, marriage contracts, divorce settlements and purchase contracts (Piccione, 1995). The woman had a right to receive salaries in cases of self enslavement. Egyptian women had the right of lawsuit in the courts. They had the right to initiate any litigation and appeal. They also had a right to act as witnesses in any judicial proceedings. A clear example can be derived on Inscription of Mes case which involved a disputed land ownership case.
The woman also possessed the right of education and literacy. Though the women had this right, there was a low turnout of literate women in many Egyptian communities. This depended on the societal class of individual women, for example, the upper class had a higher rate of literate women than in the middle and lower class. For example, queens and royal women could attend more classes meaning they were more literate than the other women in the community (Piccione, 1995). They had the right to leadership; they could manage their homes, community and even be crowned as queens and heroines. An example can be derived from queen Ahhotep who was recognized as the liberator of the community against Hyksos in the 18th Century. Women had the rights to work though this was limited to family and at home. They were free to walk and talk in public areas though it was considered to be unsafe to walk alone.
Sources of the information used by Peter Piccione.
Piccione article ‘the status of women in Ancient Egyptian Society’ can be classified as a secondary source of information about the status of women in ancient Egyptian society. The author referred to other sources like ‘the Will of Naunakht’, ‘the Inscription of Mes’, and ‘a Twelfth Dynasty Will (imyt-pr) of Wah from el-Lahum. All these were original articles developed by ancient Egyptian authors. The writer has gathered information from these authors to develop this article.
Reference.
Piccione, Peter A. Excursis III: The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society. 1995, work cited,
http://web.archive.org/web/19970630114400/http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/B94women.html
