Gender Roles Played a Significan Role in History Essay
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In the study of ancient history, it can be observed that the gender differences between men and women have always played a significant role in any society’s formation of political structure, cultural tradition, and even religion. Through these observations, it can be concluded that women often got the “shorter end of the stick” when it came to rights and privileges. This is not an opinion among scholars; it is accepted as a fact, since it is well-documented in the histories of most commonly studied civilizations. However, among the male-dominated cultures, some allowed women more freedom than others. Compared to different civilizations that existed at the time, like Ancient China and Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, although still considered…show more content… This remarkable rise to power- by a woman, no less- is a prime example of the first aspect of women’s rights that strengthened Egypt: women in politics. In many other ancient civilizations, this could never have happened; even making a woman Regent would be unthinkable. This can be seen in the views of a Greek historian about the simple difference in duties: “… neighbouring countries were clearly shocked by the relative freedom of Egyptian women and, describing how they 'attended market and took part in trading whereas men sat and home and did the weaving', the Greek historian Herodotus believed the Egyptians 'have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind'.”4 However, in Egypt, women getting involved in a country’s government was not unheard of, so Hatshepsut’s rule was not considered “common,” per se, but it was accepted.5 Because of the tradition of appointing young son’s mothers Regents, combined with the