Rights and Roles of Women in Ancient Egypt
Women in Ancient Egypt
The Role of Woman in Ancient Egypt
At a time when man held the upper hand in every age and place in the ancient world, and woman had no role beyond her natural role in the family as wife and mother, the role of woman in ancient Egypt was a prominent landmark on the path of Egyptian civilisation for thousands of years, and a title for the keenness of society at that time to invest all its energies in order to reach the highest degrees of refinement and progress without distinction between man and woman. The two of them cooperated together within the framework of a wonderful fabric that produced for the whole world this civilisation whose achievements came ahead of their time.
A careful look at the role of woman in ancient Egypt through what the ancient Egyptian monuments have recorded for us of images of her, or of statues alone or with her husband and family, and what the writers and sages have said about her, and the titles she bore, and the offices she held, and the role she practised in her family and in her society – all this enables us to grasp clearly the image of the Egyptian woman. She practised her natural role as wife and mother, and expended every effort to prepare the suitable climate for her family so that it might be productive and live a happy and contented life at the same time; then the family made her interweave into the fabric of a strong and cohesive society that reached a degree of maturity that qualified it to achieve this wonderful civilisation.
The scenes and statues have shown her with the members of her family, the signs of happiness, contentment and family solidarity appearing upon them; they have also shown her as a slender, elegant figure appearing in her finest adornment and her most beautiful clothes, with the signs of health and contentment upon her.
It is clear from all the texts that dealt with woman that the husband and society held a special esteem for her; she is the one who bears the title “nebet per,” that is, “Mistress of the House,” a title that confirms her distinguished position among the members of her family.
A look at the Egyptian legislations and laws makes clear how they defined for woman her rights and duties in marriage and at divorce, and likewise organised for her the matter of inheritance in order to safeguard her rights and her humanity.
Attributes and Epithets of Women
In addition to all these aspects of the life of woman, there is that aspect which distinguished her from woman in any civilisation of the ancient world – her role in society. That role becomes clear through the attributes by which she was described, the honorary titles that were bestowed upon her, and the important offices that she held, to the point that she was able, from the early history of Egypt, to rule the country.
If we begin with some of the attributes and epithets by which woman was described, we find among them: “the saviour,” “the learned,” “strong of arm,” “she who seizes the Two Lands,” “great of strength,” “Mistress of Appearance,” “beautiful of face,” “great of love,” “radiant as the sun,” “she who refreshes the hearts,” “possessor of gentleness,” “Mistress of Love,” “Mistress of Joy,” “Mistress of Smiling,” “Mistress of Merriment,” “great of respect,” “pure of hands,” “sound of counsel,” “honoured by her husband,” “the noble,” “beloved of her husband,” “possessor of greatness,” “Mistress of her subjects,” “of attractiveness,” “Mistress of all ladies,” “great of favour,” and “sweet of love.”
Honorary Titles
Woman obtained a group of honorary titles that indicate the respect of her society for her, and which sometimes link her with the kings and the gods. She is the Mother of the King, the Sister of the King, the Wife of the King, and the Daughter of the King. She is: the Mother of the God, the Wife of the God, the Mistress of the Two Lands, the Companion of Horus, the Favourite of the God, the Mistress of all Ladies, the Beloved of the King, the One known to the King, the Daughter of the God, the Mistress of Appearance, the Radiant as the Sun, and the Great One in the Palace.
Secular and Religious Offices
Woman continues to perform her role with competence and occupies a group of important secular and religious offices, among them: the Great One of the Harem, the Singer of the God, the Musician, the Musical Priestess, the Waitress, the Wet-nurse, the Scribe, the Adorner of the King, the Tutor, the Singer, the Chantress, the Scribe, the Overseer of the King’s Property, the Overseer of the King’s Dancers, the Chief of the Treasury, the Rower, the Overseer, the Dancer, the Purifier, the Ruler, the Learned, and the Performer of the Rituals.
The Royal Woman and the Throne
Within the framework of the traditions of Egyptian kingship, the royal woman plays an influential role; she is the passageway that the king must cross in order to reach the throne of the country. The royal traditions required that the ruler of the country be of a royal mother; if that was not possible, he had to marry one of the princesses of the royal house; and if that also was not possible, he had to resort to a political stratagem clothed in a religious framework known as the divine birth. We see the king who reached the throne of the country without a royal mother spreading among the people a story to the effect that the god married his human mother, and that he was the product of this marriage; by this means he obtained a legitimacy from the side of the god (which had not been available to him from the side of the mother) that qualified him to rule Egypt. Perhaps the most prominent examples of this are King Amenhotep III, who was born of a Syrian mother; he recorded on the walls of the temple of Luxor the story of the marriage of the god Amun to his Syrian mother, and that he was the product of this marriage.
The royal woman crowns her role in her society through her rule of the country, in addition to certain ladies of the royal family who were not rulers but who succeeded in directing the affairs of the country at home and abroad with wisdom and competence.
Ruling Queens
The ruling queens are:
| Queen | Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Merneith | First Dynasty |
| Khentkaus | Fourth Dynasty |
| Nitocris | Sixth Dynasty |
| Sobekneferu | Twelfth Dynasty |
| Hatshepsut | Eighteenth Dynasty |
| Tawosret | Nineteenth Dynasty |
Queen Hatshepsut
Perhaps the most prominent of them all is Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled for about 15 years (in the period from 1473 to 1458 BC), during which the country enjoyed internal stability and external peace, and whose reign produced a distinctive art and elegant architecture. Among the most prominent of her monuments is the temple of Deir el-Bahari in western Luxor, which stands majestically in the embrace of the mountain; its design was laid down by her famous architect Senenmut. Among the most prominent events of her reign is that expedition which she despatched to the Land of Punt (the land of Somalia and Yemen) to bring the incense required by the rituals that take place in the temples; then the two obelisks which she ordered to be cut from the red granite quarry east of Aswan, and which she erected for the god Amun in the temple of Karnak. The tip of each of them was covered with sheets of gold, and when the rays of the sun were reflected upon them they illuminated the whole world. One of the two obelisks still stands majestically at Karnak, while the second fell, although its parts remain in the same temple near the sacred lake. The tomb of Queen Hatshepsut – which has suffered much destruction – is considered one of the largest tombs of the Valley of the Kings.
Non-Ruling Queens Who Contributed to Government
As for the non-ruling queens who contributed to the direction of the affairs of government in the country, among them are:
| Queen | Relation / Contribution |
|---|---|
| Ahhotep I | Mother of King Ahmose I (the liberator of Egypt from the Hyksos, and the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty) |
| Ahmose-Nefertari | Wife of King Ahmose |
| Tiye | Wife of King Amenhotep III and mother of King Akhenaten |
| Nefertiti | Wife of King Akhenaten |
| Nefertari | Wife of King Ramesses II |
The Legacy of the Ancient Egyptian Woman
This was a rapid tour through the heart and mind of society in an attempt to search for the position of half of society and one of its two fundamental pillars – woman. The results of that tour came extremely rich in the light they cast upon the life of the ancient Egyptian woman, and the picture came pure white, inspiring pride. Woman played with man a distinctive symphony of civilisation, and together they presented the example to the world in the ancient and the modern ages – that through the man’s belief in the necessity that woman should contribute her effort to the building of society, cohesion comes, and consequently achievement comes.
The ancient Egyptian woman gave every gift to her family and to her society; indeed, she gave to humanity as a whole. Her message was clear with the clarity of Egypt’s brilliant sun, lofty with the loftiness of Egyptian civilisation, strong with the strength of the gift of Egyptian man. She held fast to the values that the ancient Egyptian society established across the ages – the values of belonging, perseverance, tolerance and loyalty – good like the fertile land of Egypt, the bestower of good and of life, generous and bountiful like the great River Nile, pure with the purity of the sky of Egypt, for as long as God wills.
Module Key Takeaways
- Legal rights and high-status titles gave ancient Egyptian women a unique position, including the ability to own property and initiate divorce.
- Religious and secular offices such as priestess, scribe, and overseer demonstrate women’s active role beyond the household.
- Ruling queens like Hatshepsut and influential royal women shaped Egypt’s politics, proving that female leadership was accepted and celebrated.