The role of women has evolved tremendously in the last century; however, to truly understand how far this evolution has come close attention must be paid to some of the oldest societies, such as that of the ancient Egyptians. The inferior role of women is clearly depicted in the professional life in ancient Egypt, in which there were only a few occupations available to women. In public life where men seemed to dominate, women were also not treated equally. In domestic life, which seemed to be the women’s domain, women were also treated unequally, where they were expected and obligated to do all the chores and raising of their children. The role of women was not equal to that of men in ancient Egyptian society and this is evident through professional life, public life and domestic life.

        The inequality between the roles of women as opposed to men is apparent through professional life, where women most often restricted. Women had very limited political and public power. In pharaonic Egypt women held none of the important offices of state and apart from queens regnant and certain priestesses, wielded very little political power.1 Women were not deemed worthy of holding powerful and influential jobs. There were only a few professional positions which were acceptable for women to hold, and therefore which were available to women. There were five professions open to them-priesthood, midwifery, mourning, dancing and music- of which most prestigious was priesthood.2 The most prestigious professions were male only, or male dominant and the women had to choose professions which were acceptable for women to hold.

No matter how successful a woman was in the female priesthood, or as a midwife, mourner, dancer or musician, it is a depressing thought that these female professions were not as important or influential as those in the civil and public service, none of which was open to women.3

Even the women who held important positions were not acknowledged in the same respect that men who held similar or equivalent positions were. Esteemed or prestigious jobs were simply unavailable to women. It is an uncomfortable fact that no woman could aspire to be a king’s scribe, an army general, a governor of a city or a province, or an ambassador to foreign lands.4 Important jobs, many of which required an education were held only by men. In rare cases when women attained high power they were depicted as men.

Even when women (such as SOBEKNEFERU and HATSHEPSUT) attained the highest office in ancient Egypt, the kingship, they were effectively portrayed as men, since the pharaoh was regarded as intrinsically male.5

Women who attained great power were depicted as men, which reveals that most likely the ancient Egyptians were ashamed of having a women in power and they want people who did not already know that a women had attained great power to never become aware of this. The professional lives of women in ancient Egypt clearly illustrated the inequality of their roles which were present at the time.

           The difference in the role of women is noticeably demonstrated through public life, where women were the most restricted. Professions in the public life were simply not held by women. In pharaonic Egypt women held none of the important offices of state and apart from queens regnant and certain priestesses, wielded very little political power.6 Women were kept out of the public life as much as possible, and one of the main ways this was achieved was by restricting the public positions open to them, and reserving influential and public professions for men. Women did not play a large part in public life.7 Women who were successful in the few fields available to them were still not as successful as a profession in the public would have allowed them to be.

No matter how successful a woman was in the female priesthood, or as a midwife, mourner, dancer or musician, it is a depressing thought that these female professions were not as important or influential as those in the civil and public service, none of which was open to women.8

Men held the public jobs so as to insure that the likelihood of women obtaining any large amount of power was minimal. Professions which were mainly in the public were off-limits to women. It is an uncomfortable fact that no woman could aspire to be a king’s scribe, an army general, a governor of a city or a province, or an ambassador to foreign lands.9 From the moment of birth, women already had no chance of being part of the most impactful part of life which was that of the public and political life. Women were not prohibited from being in public; nonetheless, they infrequently went out in public except to go to the market. Women were not veiled or strictly confined to the house. 10 Women were free to wear any attire they pleased; however, they were already restricted from many public positions and affairs, so such freedom in clothing was rather insignificant since they weren’t often out in public anyways. The limitation of women in public life, in ancient Egypt, further demonstrates the inferior role of women at that time.

          The domestic life provides further evidence of inequality in the role of women, where they were responsible for essentially everything. The main outdoor activities for women were related to their household chores. Main activity for peasant women, beyond their own homes, was going to market-they must have spent a great deal of time collecting fuel and drawing and carrying water.11 They had large and time-consuming roles at home which most of their lives revolved around. The lives of women were centered around having and raising their children.

A girl in ancient Egypt usually married shortly after beginning to menstruate and could expect to bear her first child at about twelve to fifteen years old, thereafter producing a child per year so that women seldom had fewer than four or five children.12

Women were somewhat seen and treated as childbearing machines, with the sole objective-to bear as many children as was possible. Another important domestic role women had was to maintain a clean and tidy house. Besides looking after her children, she had to keep her home clean and her linen laundered, to prepare food and drink and to do the shopping-or rather go to market, for there were no shops in ancient Egypt.13 All household related chores seemed to be taken care of solely by women. As well, the women were responsible for keeping the house supplies stocked. The housewife was also responsible for supplying her household with beer.14 The women were essentially slaves to their family, responsible for making sure everything was perfect, whether it be related to cleanliness or meals. Women in ancient Egypt were responsible for what is today stereotypically known as the duties of women.

Women normally followed what would now be seen as a highly traditional pattern of life, running the household and being expected to produce a male heir to carry on the family and to take responsibility for the family tomb.15

Women held the hardest and most demanding roles. They were to provide their family with a heir, and not just any heir but a male one, which is a lot of pressure for any women. The domestic life was regarded as being mainly the role of women, which reveals the inequality between sexes which existed.

         In conclusion, women in ancient Egypt were treated as inferior to males in all areas of life. They were restricted for having positions in most, if not all powerful professions, which were deemed appropriate only for males. They were not accepted in public life as men were, and were restricted from have any positions which were highly public. They were encouraged to concentrate their time in the domestic life. Their main role was in the domestic life, where they were to tend to anything or anyone (child) who needed anything. They were mainly what are today refereed to as housewives, however, with much more pressure and many more responsibilities. Women were not equals and even in today’s society there are still minimal inequalities, however, when compared with ancient Egypt these small inequalities truly seem negligible.

1 Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (Gloucestershire: Alan Sutton Publishing Limited, 1991), 23.

2 Ibid., 38.

3 Ibid., 53.

4 Ibid., 53.

5 Paul Nicholson, Ian Shaw. The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (London: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1995), 306.

6 Ibid., 23.

7 Ibid,. 37.

8 Ibid., 53.

9 Ibid., 53.

10 Jack M. Sasson, Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1995), 371.

11 Ibid., 35-36.

12 Ibid., 84.

13 Ibid., 125.

14 Ibid., 130.

15 Don Nardo, Living in Ancient Egypt (Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2004), 26.