Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Hawass’s Reflections on Women Amidst Pharaonic Era


Sat 03 Nov 2018 | 08:45 PM
Ali Abu Dashish

Egypt’s prestigious Archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass ensured that women rejoiced a lot of rights during the Pharaonic era and were worthy of appreciation, as gender equality was highly considered.

Hawass noted that women in ancient Egypt had the right to chose their lifetime partners; a screen drawn in the tomb of «Khayti» ‘Bani Hassan’ shows a groom awaiting the consent of his bride before the nuptials. Couples also signed prenuptial agreements before moving in.

He confirmed that women partook in the construction of the Great Pyramids. Many women were found buried lonely inside the graves of the builders without a husband or son, along inscriptions indicating that they were working in in the garment industry.

“We have already uncovered a graveyard of a lady bearing a title that refers to her career in brewery and baking,” elaborated Hawass. “Despite contributing in different fields, a female’s most prominent role was nursing injured workers during transferring stones.”

It is worth noting that in some rare cases women engaged in judicial situations. One written document recorded the participation of a women in a village court and another case confirmed the joining of two women along three men in a judicial council.

“Women had full control over their private properties and this gave them some financial and economic independency. They had the right to initiate lawsuits, witness to the courts if their testimony is requested and charged if they committed any crime,” said Hawass.

Hawass pointed out that documents found at the monastery of ‘Medina,’ the village where the artists and workers of the Valley of the Kings’ graves were discovered, indicated a case in which a worker was absent because of a quarrel with his wife; she has bitten him seriously!

In spite of all the rights ancient Egyptian females enjoyed, the pine law did not allow women to rule; only men were entitled to sovereign. “Queens ascended to the throne only in times of weakness and their rule lasted few years,” noted Hawass.

“Although women could not rule, Kings only rise to power if they had queens by their side,” explained Hawass. “The holy prophecy states that the Nile was established by faithful Isis’s tears thus she was revered as the wife of the king and the mother of his successor.”

Anyone who encroached this pine decree has to face outraged people, as what happened with Queen Hatshepsut who predicated her guardianship over little ‘Tuhutmoous’ before stepping him aside completely.

All in all, a female was titled ‘Nabt Ber’ which means ‘The housewife,’ as she used to pursue her career as a judge or a doctor once she fulfills her role as a mother....Truly, Egyptian females are the Prima Dona of the Ancient times.