Women in Egypt
| Gender Inequality Index | |
|---|---|
| Value | 0.590 (2012) |
| Rank | 126th |
| Maternal mortality (per 100,000) | 66 (2010) |
| Women in parliament | 14.9% (2015) |
| Females over 25 with secondary education | 43.4% (2010) |
| Women in labour force | 26% (2014) |
| Global Gender Gap Index | |
| Value | 0.5935 (2013) |
| Rank | 125th out of 144 |
The role of women in Egypt has changed throughout history, from ancient to modern times. From the earliest preserved archaeological records, Egyptian women have been thought to be considered nearly equal to men in Egyptian society, regardless of marital status. Currently, the state of women's rights in Egypt is extremely poor, with female genital mutilation, honor killings and sexual harassment remaining serious issues faced by Egyptian women. In 2013, Egypt was ranked as the worst country in the Arab World for women.
Women were stated lower than men when it came to a higher leader in the Egyptian hierarchy counting his peasants. This hierarchy was similar to the way the peasants were treated in the Middle Ages. Despite this equality, women were expected to avoid contact with men who were not kin and to veil themselves in public. As children, females were raised to be solely dependent upon their fathers and older brothers. When women married, they depended on their husbands to make all decisions, while the women themselves were depended upon to carry out household chores. Married Egyptian women were expected by their husband's families to bear children, but particularly males. It was common for married couples to continue to reproduce until bearing at least two sons. Barrenness was considered a severe misfortune for Egyptian women, as well as the inability to produce male offspring. Women who had only bore females were given derogatory names, such as "mothers of brides". A family with well-grown sons was considered to have decent security. An Egyptian woman was thought to be at the peak of her power when her sons had married because she automatically acquired the control over the newly growing families of her sons.
Women have traditionally been preoccupied with household tasks and child rearing and have rarely had opportunities for contact with men outside the family. Unlike most traditional Egyptian women, Cleopatra and Nefertiti were among the few who had a major impact as rulers in Egyptian society. Cleopatra was known to have ruled with Marc Antony around 31 BC, despite her gender and other social issues, and she was also the Coregent of her two husband-brothers and her son. Nefertiti was the chief wife of an Egyptian pharaoh, Amenhotep IV. Nefertiti was known to be an active Egyptian woman in society, as well as her children. In addition to female Egyptian rulers, Hatshepsut had reigned in Egypt as pharaoh from about 1503 to 1480 B.C. and had based most of Egypt's economy on commerce.
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