Ancient Egypt And A Woman’s Choice
Let’s talk about ancient Egypt and a woman’s choice. As many of you know, I love this area of history. There are the three main periods of ancient Egyptian history. Old Kingdom: (c. 2700–2200 BCE) known for the pyramids and robust pharaohs. Middle Kingdom: (c. 2000–1700 BCE) Marked by reunification of Egypt and a cultural renaissance. New Kingdom: (c. 1550–1070 BCE) A period of prosperity, conquests, as well as hardship and defeat.
One of the many reasons I appreciate ancient Egypt is how they treated women. Any society that treats women as lesser is an uncivilized society in my point of view. Now, let me be the first to say they were not a fully feminist society, but compared to ancient Greece and ancient Rome, they were ten times better in that area.
(Women were protected by the ancient Egyptian court system)
1. Legal protections were available.
2. Marriages were normally voluntary.
3. Property ownership was permitted.
4. Inheritance rights were recognized by the court system.
5. Economic participation was common. (Women could be scribes, doctors, and business owners.)
6. Status varied by class.
7. Legal safeguards for divorce existed.
8. Women had religious roles such as becoming head priestesses.
(Rape in Ancient Egypt)
Rape was considered a crime in ancient Egypt and was illegal. Laws and punishments connected to rape may have varied over time and by territory. Sentences for rape could include fines, corporal punishment, or even death in some cases. Sometimes, when it came to sexual assault, the family members of the woman who was assaulted would act without the court system. Vigilante justice was not uncommon. The rapist would be shunned, exiled from their community, or disappear altogether. Ancient Egyptian fathers and mothers were fiercely protective of their children and family members and were not afraid to take justice into their own hands.
One of the reasons the ancient Egyptians were more advanced than other ancient societies is that most women had control over their bodies. Contraceptives weren’t a taboo topic in ancient Egypt. As far back as 1850 BC, papyrus scrolls were found to contain directions on how to make birth control, using honey and acacia leaves, as well as creating a substance or herbal remedy that you could drink, which would work like today’s Plan B medication. Most of these techniques would work 70% or more percent of the time, which is pretty amazing in the ancient world. The first recorded evidence of induced abortion is from the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus in 1550 BCE. The papyrus provides information on various medical treatments and remedies, including contraceptives and abortifacients.
The idea of an ancient Egyptian woman marrying a Roman would have been relatively rare. One reason was that Egyptians were very proud people. They were proud of their religion, proud of their legal systems, and proud of their laws. Since women had a choice in whom they wanted to marry for the most part, the idea of marrying a Roman was almost laughable. Why would a woman want to give up all of her rights to become a piece of Roman property? Women in ancient Egypt had certain rights within marriage, including the right to inherit property and the right to seek a divorce. There were legal requirements for marriage in ancient Egypt. A marriage contract, known as a “marriage settlement,” was often drawn up to outline the rights and responsibilities of both spouses. This contract was a legal document and provided certain protections, particularly for the wife. In ancient Rome and ancient Greece and other ancient societies, such protections did not exist. Divorce was permitted in ancient Egypt, and it was relatively accessible to both men and women from any social class. A divorce required a legal process and often involved the return of the bride’s dowry to her family.
Ancient Egyptian women used a combination of urine and grains to determine pregnancy. A woman would collect her urine in a container, preferably in the morning when it might be more concentrated. Egyptian women poured the urine on the barley or wheat seeds, if the seeds sprouted quickly that indicated pregnancy. While this may sound crazy to us, several modern studies have shown that it works pretty well, correctly identifying 70–85% of pregnancies.
Historians believed that tampons were commonly used in ancient Egypt. They were made with rolled-up cotton, or softened papyrus. These items were cheap and easy to make, so anybody in any class of society would be able to use them. Aromatherapy, massage techniques, and certain herbs with anti-inflammatory or analgesic properties would have been used for menstrual pain. For extreme pain like childbirth opium was used. Opium was used to make people sleep, to relieve pain and to quiet the nerves because it acts on the nervous system and influences cerebral functions. The ancient Egyptians had to be careful because it was something that a human being could easily overdose on. It’s possible that the ancient Egyptians were less likely to die in childbirth than the rest of the ancient world, not just because of their medical knowledge, but because they allowed women to become scribes and doctors. Women were allowed to trust their instincts about their own bodies, and did not have any legal or laws prohibiting their healthcare.
In conclusion, if the ancient Egyptians were smart enough to not question women and their choices for their own bodies in 1850 BC, why do we question a woman’s right to choose or to make medical decisions for herself in the year 2023? We can learn a lot from the ancient world. Ancient humans and modern humans are different, but they are also the same. We have history books for a reason; we must learn from them.
