Women in Ancient Egypt

Women in ancient Egypt had a status that significantly contrasts the status of many modern women because they occupied power in ways that women commonly do not in contemporary societies. Although men and women in Egypt had traditionally distinct powers in society, there was no insurmountable barrier in front of those who wanted to deviate from this pattern. Egyptian society recognized women as equal to men, but as having an essential complementarity, expressed especially in the action of producing children. This respect is expressed clearly in the ancient Egyptian theology and morality. They had the opportunity to rule the country and have the same basic human rights as men.

Most women belonged to the peasantry, and worked alongside their husbands doing agricultural work. Women were known to manage farms or businesses in the absence of their husbands or sons. Among the upper classes of society, a woman usually did not work outside the home, and instead supervised the servants of the household and her children's education. Women belonging to families wealthy enough to hire nannies to help with childcare frequently worked as perfume-makers, and also were employed in courts and temples, as acrobats, dancers, singers, and musicians, which were all considered respectable pursuits for upper-class women. Women belonging to any class could work as professional mourners or musicians, and these were common jobs. Noblewomen could be members of the priesthood connected to either a god or goddess. Women could even be at the head of a business as, for example, the lady Nenofer of the New Kingdom, and could also be a doctor, like the lady Peseshet during the Fourth dynasty of Egypt.

There is much evidence of complex beliefs and practices in ancient Egypt related to the important role fertility played in society. If a woman was not fertile, her husband could potentially divorce her for not producing heirs. Religious beliefs included rules concerning purification, similar to other religions in the region. Women in Egypt were believed to be eliminating impure elements during menstruation, and were excused from work and could not enter the restricted rooms of temples while menstruating. Fertility rituals were used by couples desiring children. Contraception was permitted as well, and medical texts survive that refer to many contraceptive formulas (although the ingredients are often now difficult to identify). Some formulas, such as drinks made of celery base and beer, are dubious, but others show a basic knowledge of somewhat effective methods, such as a spermicide made of fermented acacia gum, which produces a sperm-killing lactic acid.

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