This lesson is a brief independent or group assignment on women's rights in ancient times.
- Read the notes below as a class and discuss what life must have been like for women in Ancient Egypt.
- Assign each group or individual students a different ancient society. (i.e. Indus Valley, China, Babylonians)
- Using your textbook, the INTERNET or school library have the students research other ancient societies with particular attention to women's rights.
- Have students present their findings in an oral presentation.
Women in Ancient Egypt enjoyed rights women in other ancient societies did not have. Egyptian women could own property, live alone, and divorce their husbands. Some royal women even held the influential position of god’s wife and visited Amun’s temple regularly to leave offerings, perform rituals, and care for the god. God’s wives were prominent and well respected in Egyptian society. The only other person who could interact directly with a god was the Pharaoh.
However, Egyptian society had clearly defined roles for men and women. For instance, to have a woman Pharaoh went against social and religious norms. Pharaohs were considered the sons of Amun and the living version of the god Horus. In addition, having a woman as pharaoh went against ma’at or the natural order.
Hatshepsut was an exception. An Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh who ruled for about 20 years, Hatshepsut was the first woman pharaoh in Egyptian history. Hatshepsut came to power when she served as regent for her step-son, Thutmose III who was three when his father Thutmose II died. Hatshepsut was Thutmose II’s half-sister and wife as it was common for royal siblings to marry. Following her husband’s death, Hatshepsut used her position as a god’s wife to reinforce her power and began to assume the role of Pharaoh. She would often dress in men’s clothing and wear the crown of the Pharaoh to assert her position.
As Pharaoh, Hatshepsut concentrated more on trade than warfare and sent traders to Punt, which is now modern day Somalia. Her traders brought back myrrh trees, ivory, and rare African woods. She was also a great builder. Her most famous construction is her funerary temple at Deir el Bahri where she planted myrrh trees from Punt. It was a very popular tourist site among Egyptians of her own time. The designer of the temple at Deir el Bahri, Senmut, was rumored to be her daughter Neferure’s father.
Thutmose III destroyed Hatshepsut’s monuments. Some say out of revenge, others think it was to protect his son Amenhotep who would be coming to power at a very young age.