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Women in Ancient Egyptian Society

Piccione claims that Egyptian women seem to have enjoyed the same legal and economic rights as an Egyptian man. This notion is reflected in Egyptian art and historical inscriptions. Women’s rights were inherently connected to the theoretical role of the king in Egyptian society. Since the pharaoh personified Egypt, he emulated the social regimen and vicarious personality of the State. In that light, men and women are determined to be socially equal. (Piccione) All people sharing a common relationship with the king compose Egyptian national identity. Men and women evidently shared equally, so it appears that they were equal to each other. (Piccione)

Egypt was not an egalitarian society. (Piccione) Social distinction is viewed in terms of class rather than gender. Rights and privileges varied from class to class but equal economic and legal rights were afforded without gender bias. Most of the text and images that Piccione observed were found in the tombs of affluent Egyptians. He claims that commoners were not well represented due to insufficient funds. (Piccione)

Based on recovered legal documents, Egyptian women were accorded equal rights: They bought and sold private property, materials, servants/slaves and animals. The recovered legal documents indicate that women contracted in marriage and divorce. She could free slaves, make adoptions and execute testaments. Greek women required a male advocate (Kourios) in all legal predicaments. Egyptian women did not. (Piccione)

A man’s customary responsibility was to assure the security of his mother, wife and daughters. He did this by giving them property from which they could earn an income. (Ward) Ward claims that there were no marriage certificates or accounts of formal marriage ceremonies. Marriage was based on property agreements between the bride and groom’s respective families. The husband was expected to supply a house and any existing (or expected) inheritance from his parents. The wife’s family supplied her with a dowry that may have consisted of liquid assets, real property and portable wealth. The wealthier the family, the more extensive the dowry. (Ward)

An imyt-pr was the equivalent of a ‘living will.’ Records show that men more often created imyt-prs to short-circuit the custom of dividing his property equally among his survivors. The imyt-pr could specify property owned prior to marriage. Marriage, according to custom, created a limited community-property union: Only property accrued during a marriage's tenure was dissolvable after death. Property owned prior to marriage was not community property. (Piccione) A more radical provision allowed the husband to ‘adopt’ his wife, making her a legal child.

Egyptian custom specified that 1/3 of a man’s property go to his wife and the remaining 2/3rds be evenly divided among his children. By adopting his wife, he could effectively make her his sole heir. It is important to note that gender distinction was made regarding real estate. Creating an imyt-pr could include property owned prior to the marriage; awarding her a fee simple estate (the whole thing). (Piccione)

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[Ausar]

Women were allowed so many rights in Egyptian soceity that during the Ptolomeic times Greek women chose to be tried by Egyptian courts. During this times Egyptiajns had seperate courts for laws because of the complete difference between the two cultures. Herodotus even made a comments he felt that it was backwards the Egyptians had female traders.


Compaired to other soceities surrounding Egypt they definatley treated with more respect and held them with hiogh reguard. It was through the female line that the royal sucession occured. Most Norther/Eastern Mediterranean soceities were highly straitifed with patriarhical tendecies while Egyptians were a matriarhical culture.


Many female high officals and even a physican existed in their soceity.