Happy Women’s Equality Day! Today marks yet another yearly milestone of women gaining the same rights as men. From Hillary Clinton running for president this year, to thousands of international feminist media outlets, to the many programs in place to grow women within society (American Business Women’s Association, etc.), we have come a long way. To highlight this, I wanted to research the top civilizations within history that helped pave the way for the ideal we’re still striving towards now. The Ancient Egyptians and the North Native American’s were likely the most woman-friendly, dare I say “feminist”, civilizations we know of within history. Their views on appearance, violence against women, women’s sexuality, the role of women in society, and women’s sexual orientation, are admirable, with Native American’s being the most progressive. Now let’s delve into why I’ve chosen these societies, and in what ways they’ve paved the way for we women now, in 2016.
The Ancient Egyptians prospered between 1,000 and 3,000 B.C., and there aren’t many other ancient civilizations quite like them during their time. They were nowhere near perfect on the side of women’s equality, but they made great strides that other civilizations simply weren’t doing at the time. For such a large kingdom (likely 1 million to 2 million inhabitants – about the population of Houston, Texas, or San Jose, California), they found priority in keeping women fairly equal to me.
- Appearance-wise:
· Women were not succumbed to wearing restrictive or “modest” clothing. They commonly wore loose-fitting, comfortable clothes that allowed for the showing of skin.
· Both sexes were expected to keep up with hygiene and looks, and this included regular bathing, staying in physical shape, and accessory adornment.
- General value within society:
· Women were allowed to own property, borrow money, sign contracts, divorce their husbands, and appear in court as witnesses.
· During marriage, importance was placed on real love and affection, rather than financial matters. The wife also maintained her independence, keeping control of her own assets. If she chose to divorce, or was widowed, she was allowed to remarry. Women divorcees were given a share of their husband’s wealth, and widows were given 1/3 of their husband’s property after his death.
· Woman who were unable to conceive were unlikely to be divorced, as this was frowned upon. Adoption of children was a more likely option.
· The idea of monogamy was universal to the man and woman, and men were expected not to cheat. The punishments were harsher on women who cheated, however.
· Women were allowed to have occupations and supplement their own income, such as becoming a vegetable gardener or clothing designer. Daughters often learned their mother’s trade as children.
· Selling women into prostitution was also generally frowned upon, and was an uncommon practice and illegal during most of Egypt’s kingdom hood.
- Assault:
· During the Late Period of the Egyptian Kingdom, women were able to ask for protection against domestic abuse by the courts.
· Punishment for the raping of a woman was punishable by death or mutilation.
- Sexuality:
· Virginity was not a necessity for women to marry. Pre-marital sex was acceptable for women, as well as men. Sexuality was guilt-free, and single as well as married couples copulated.
- Homosexuality:
· Although there is no hard evidence, it seems that bisexuality was a common occurrence. Bisexuality was seen more lightly than homosexuality among women.
The Native North Americans are the closest to an ideal society for women that I’ve been able to find. It’s unfortunate and despicable the way they were brutalized and massacred by settlers, considering what a peaceful people they were. Most Native American tribes functioned through a matriarchal or equality-based system where women were highly valued. Of course specific details vary from tribe to tribe, and as a result of the mass genocide and discrimination against their people, it’s hard to narrow down specific facts but this is what has been proven true, or at least insinuated.
- Appearance-wise:
· Like the Egyptians, women didn’t wear constrictive clothing. They wore often wore loose dresses allowing for movement, and little adornment. They wore their hair in simple hairstyles oftentimes, most popularly being loose, in buns, or in topknots.
General value within society:
· Marriage doesn’t seem as though it was a necessity, and neither was childbirth.
· Women carried much of the same occupational weight as men. They were builders, warriors, farmers, and crafters. They helped gather materials, as well as make homes from scratch and maintain roofs.
· Many women were also master crafters, creating beautiful blankets, baskets, pottery, and jewelry that would withstand years of wear and tear.
· Forced prostitution was also unlikely because of the high respect placed on women.
Assault:
· Whether rape or domestic abuse was common is unknown, but was likely uncommon.
· If a sexual assault or rape happened, the rapist would have been regarded with great disdain, shame, and disappointment by the community. The rapist would first be severely beaten and then would attend a traditional healing ceremony. During this ceremony, there would be a conversation about the tribe's feelings and thoughts about the incident. It would also be a time for the rapist to gain the woman's forgiveness, as well as understand why his actions were wrong and how they affected the community.
· Rapists were also sometimes exiled.
- Sexuality:
· Polygyny was common within marriages, and men had little reign over what their wives did with other men. Men were also able to have multiple sexual partners as long as their wife agreed.
· Women likely did the choosing of their sexual mates as young as teenage hood. There were ceremonies regarding this. Virginity was not an important concept (likely not a concept at all).
· Sex was openly spoken about and was not seen as something for women to be ashamed of.
- Homosexuality:
· It seems that homosexuality was accepted. They had a concept of “Two-spirit People”, which were those seen as having masculine and feminine spirits (i.e. queer people, transgender people, and likely homosexuals). Those of “Two-spirit” were seen to have more spiritual gifts. They were likely upheld within society.
· Masculine women would marry feminine women.
This is what I’ve found on the two great people that helped us get to where we are today. As we continue this journey of women’s equality, keep the Egyptians and Native American’s in mind!
Sources:
http://www.ancientfacts.net/the-concept-of-beauty-in-ancient-egypt/ http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/beauty.htm http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/clothing.htm
http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/people/couples.htm
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_egypt.htm https://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/womneg.htm http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1277&context=jclc
http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/sexuality.html http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp455-fs14/2014/10/23/ancient-egyptian-sexuality/
http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-women.html http://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/for-native-americans-sex-didnt-come-with-guilt-21347/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/22eh21/what_were_sex_and_dating_like_in_native_american/
http://www.firstpeople.us/articles/the-two-spirit-people-of-indigenous-north-americans.html