User:Myar Dawood/sandbox

Women’s Rights in Ancient Egypt: Lady Naunakhte In ancient Egyptian community, Egyptians believe in an absolute equality between both gender to an extent that the historian Herodos was totally astonished by this equality, in which he wrote about the Egyptians that “they have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind” ( Fletcher in Lucy de Masson). In ancient Egypt, both men and women were enjoying the same legal and economic rights. In the legal aspect, surviving accounts and documented contracts help the Egyptologists to identify to what extent women’s rights in ancient Egypt, regardless their social standard and their position in the country were covered all the legal aspects of the society equally to the men. Furthermore, Egyptian women enjoyed the same economic rights equivalent to men in which they were able to take their economic decisions in their own. As evidences of this equality between men and women, a papyrus showed ISIS granting gifts on humanity giving both women and men the same power and honour. Another papyrus showed how women were able to acquire wealth independently from her husband. Many other examples of papyrus showed in detailed how men and women were enjoying the same equality. This paper mainly illustrates the civil law that men and women regardless their social standard were following. Then, the paper will start to narrow down into both subheadings: women legal rights, and women property rights. Thirdly, lady Naunakhte will be an illustration of how women enjoyed their rights equally to men. (ISIS, Goddess of Egyptians) Egyptians Civil Law: (hp) In ancient Egypt, all the laws were given from above since there was no legislation. During the New Kingdom, in a court case, “a man cites the "law of Pharaoh" as precedent and in another, when citing the law a man says, "The King said . . .” Thus, "law" is the king's word (wd-nswt).” (Janet H. Johnson) . Contracts and agreement were written based on two parties, witnesses and a professional scribe who copied down the oral agreements. Moreover, the contracts which were mainly about real property were reported to the local records office, and then the state would use these contracts in order to know who was responsible for paying the state’s taxes. Local courts were very active, and the best known example of these local courts, was the local court which is located in Deir-ElMedina, the new kingdom village which was inhabited by the workmen since huge number of evidences about that court were found in DerirAlMedina.   In this legal system, how women was treated equally to men in seizing their legal and property rights equivalent to them. (Art in the Valley of the Kings) Women Legal Rights: Egyptian woman's rights covered all the legal parts of society. According to the legal documents that have been found, ancient Egyptian women had the rights to manage and organize their private property that includes land, servants, goods and financial instruments. Furthermore, Egyptian woman had the right to control all her property freely and independently, and she even could participate and be a contracting partner in either marriage or divorce contracts. Women in ancient Egypt had the power to free slaves, and they also had the power to initiate a lawsuit in the court independently without the need of any male representative; a very good example which illustrates how women was equal to men in the court is the inscription of Mes. This inscription illustrates how women acted as witnesses, how women granted legal decisions, and how they could manage, control and inherit trusteeship of property. Thus, all of the previous shows how women in ancient Egypt were equivalent to men. Furthermore, Egyptian women entered may contracts in their own independently; Theses contracts include marriage, divorce, buying real property, and self-enslavement. As an instance for self-enslavement contracts, “woman bound herself to the temple of Saknebtynis, states, “I am your servant, together with my children and my children’s children. I shall not be free in your precinct forever and ever. You will protect me; you will keep me safe, you will guard me. You will keep me sound; you will protect me from every demon, and I will pay you 1¼ Kita of copper until the completion of 99 years””. ( Lucy De Masson).

Egyptian Women and Their Property Rights: An Egyptian woman had the equivalent legal rights as a man, and this facilitated her to inherit property on the same base as a man. Egyptian women had numerous ways to attain possessions or real property. They received these possessions and property mostly as gifts or inheritance from either their husbands or their parents. According to the ancient property laws, a wife was entitled to inherit one third of the community property- the property which accrued to both the wife and husband after marriage- after the death of the husband while the rest was divided among the children and the siblings of the husband. Nonetheless, some exceptions took place, if the husband did not want his brothers and sisters to inherit two thirds of the community in the case if there are no children. For instances, the husband could legally adopt his wife as his legal offspring so that she could receive her one third community property and some of the two-thirds community property. Furthermore, women were also free to give her husband's property to her children or even to her own siblings unless there was any concern against such act in the husband's will. Women were also free to choose who disinherit and who will inherit their own private property, and a good example of this is written down in the will of Naunakht. (The Will of Naunakhte) Lady Naunakhte: Lady Naunakhte was one of the inhabitants that lived in the workmen village in Derir Al-Medina; this village was mainly settled amidst the limestone cliffs of Western Thebes, and this village was mainly a home for those workmen who created the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. When lady Naunakhte was only twelve years old, she married to a scribe called: ken-her khepshef; they lived together for approximately thirty years without any children. After his death, Naunakhte married a workman called Khaemun, and she had eight children from him. She inherited property from both her father and her first husband. Lady Naunakhte seized the title of “Citoyenne” which is mainly an indicative of all free women who were not in service. The Will of Naunakhte: “I am a free woman in the land of pharaohs. I brought up these eight servants of yours and gave them an outfit of everything as is usually made for those in their station. But see, I am a grown old, and see they are not looking after me in my turn. Whoever of them has aided me, to him I will give of my property, but who has not given to me, o him I will not give of my property” (The Translation of the Will of Naunakhte in Jaroslav Černý) ( Translation of the Will of Naunakhte in “The Will of Naunakhte and the Related Documents” by Jaroslav Černý)

The will of Naunakhte simply emphasizes the wishes of lady Naunakkht regarding the inheritance of her eight children. Naunakhte disinherit three of her children described them as the bad children who did not aid their old mother but she highlighted that they are only disowned from her portion of her property that she freely control, and that disowned children would inherit normally from their father Khaemun. The Will of Naunakhte emphasized a very crucial insight into the judicial procedures within daily life of Egyptians particularly the workmen of the Valley of the Kings and their families. It also represent an evidence of rare records belong to the non-royal families.

Cited Sources: Allam, S. "Women as Holders of Rights in Ancient Egypt." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 33 (1990): 1-34. "British Museum - Women in Ancient Egypt." British Museum - Women in Ancient Egypt. Cerny, Jaroslav. "The Will of Naunakhte and the Related Documents." The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology: 29. De Masoon, Lucy. "Women in Ancient Egyptian Society." Ancient History Encyclopedia Graves-Brown, Carolyn. Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt. London: Continuum International Publishing, 2010. H. Johnson, Janet. "Women's Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt." Women's Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt. Lesko, Leonard H. Pharaoh's Workers: The Villagers of Deir El Medina. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994. Picone, Peter. Virtual-Egypt - The Egyptian People's Papyrus. The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society. Web. Watterson, Barbara. Women in Ancient Egypt. Stroud, [England]: Amberley, 2013. http://www.ashmolean.org/ash/objectofmonth/theobject.htm

Pictures Citation: https://www.google.com.eg/search?q=isis+ancient+egypt+PAPYRUS+POWERFUL+WOMEN&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=879&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=bCtgVZrmL4r3UoC3gLAM&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=isis+goddess+of+ancient+egypt&imgrc=suSulFwPXWYcGM%253A%3BKS3Q47P7ywaAMM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ushistory.org%252Fciv%252Fimages%252F00021285.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ushistory.org%252Fciv%252F3f.asp%3B400%3B264 https://www.google.com.eg/search?q=temple+of+Saknebtynis&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=879&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hDNgVanFJaX4yQOg4YH4CA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=temple++%2B+Saknebtynis&imgrc=gJRtoPgykwOHBM%253A%3BiRd5ZooVDzx0WM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.perankhgroup.com%252FHAT_1.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.perankhgroup.com%252Fwoman.htm%3B296%3B312

https://www.google.com.eg/search?q=Valley+of+the+kings+workmen&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=879&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0i9gVfO_K8GaygPl_YDYDg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgrc=rjh2SMIeoSK6TM%253A%3Bht26N2h073u65M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.abrock.com%252FancientEgypt%252FEgyptweb1%252Fram6.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.abrock.com%252FancientEgypt%252FEgyptweb1%252FValofKings.html%3B448%3B336 Cerny, Jaroslav. "The Will of Naunakhte and the Related Documents." The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology: 29.