History of Women

Introduction

• Women’s historian, Mary Ritter, states that in 2500 years of written history, male writers overlooked the histories of females.
• The history of mankind has been dominated by the political, economic and military exploits of an elite, powerful group of men.
• Today, women’s history accounts for the race, class and gender.

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age

• Archaeological evidence suggests that during the Neolithic and Bronze age, there may have been:
  • a matrilineal system
  • female creator images
  • powerful queens
  • sexual freedom of women
• Some historians suggest that these ancient societies were neither based on patriarchy or matriarchy. The assert that it was rather an egalitarian society based on partnerships between the two sexes. Basically, there was no stratification based on gender.
• Over time, this system was replaced by a patrilineal system where images of goddesses were replaced by images of gods.

Early Greece (700-323 BCE)

Greek Literature

• Greek literature is filled with references to the matriarchal society of the Amazons.
• Greek mythology saw the Amazons as female warriors with little need of men except as sexual partners.
• Notable queens of the Amazons in Greek mythology are:
  1. Otrera (wife of Ares, God of War)
  2. Penthesilea (daughter of Ares, God of War)
  3. Hippolyta (daughter of Ares, God of War)
• The Greek society revered women when it came to religion but saw women as inferior in political, social and legal areas.

Views of Greek Philosophers

Plato:

• He called for women education as he thought a superior woman is better than an inferior man.
• He championed that women should be involved in democracy. However, he stated that as women are uneducated, they are unfit for democracy.
• Women were also excluded from his academy and dialogues.

Aristotle:

• Aristotle is more representative of the general view of how Greek society saw women.
• Aristotle said that a husband should rule over his wife and children just as free men rule over slaves.
• Aristotle famously said that the women is a “deformed male”.

Women in Athens

• The writings of Plato and Aristotle influenced the Greek society to relegate women to an inferior social status.
• Husbands and male kin held the power of life and death over women.
• Childbearing responsibilities could be transferred from a mother to a concubine, further lowering a wife’s subordinate status.
• Athenian society did not tolerate women in public places except for funerals and all-female festivals.
• The subordinate position of Athenian women extended to most of the Greek world except Sparta.

Women in Sparta

• Young unmarried women enjoyed a high degree of freedom but were still subordinate to the male family members.
• Women were trained to be physically fit and manage households independently when the men were out at war.

Early Rome (509–280 BCE)

• In early Roman societies, men held all the authority. The families were known as pater families.
• Women did have some freedom though. They could participate in:
  • inheritance
  • common economic activities
• The roman poet, Juvenal, warned men that women are dangerous and distracting.

Middle Ages (400-1400 CE)

• Christianity enveloped Europe during the Middle Ages which was misogynistic. The most notable misogyny occurred with the witch burning.
• It was a brutal period of time for women because:
  • they were labeled as witches
  • they were hunted down and burned alive
  • they were economically dependent on men
• Thousands of women were burned as witches to appease God’s anger.
• Another example of witch burning was in Salem where the witch trials were held. There is a famous play called The Crucible by Arthur Miller on it.

The Renaissance (1300-1600 CE)

• The Renaissance was an era of change which naturally extended to women.
• It had positive effects on women of all social standing. Some examples are:
  • Women became patrons of literature and art.
  • Many women became authors, scientists, writers, etc.
• Martin Luther advocated opening Christianity to everyone, even women. He introduced the idea of Protestantism. He believed that women were also made by God and will be judged on the basis of their faith.
• Many women accepted Christianity and Protestantism because of these inclusive views. However, some women paid a heavy price who dared to criticize the Catholic Church. They were tortured and executed.
• Even though Martin Luther was inclusive of women when it came to religion, he still thought women were not equal to men.

The Colonial Era (1600-1800 CE)

• Before the arrival of the Europeans, Native American women held important leadership roles. Future women’s right activists would even look back to these Native American women as inspiration for their own fight for equal rights.
• With colonization and Christianity, women’s high standing was largely lost. Colonial white women in the Puritan era lived under Christian views imported from Europe. Some scholars argue that when colonialism started in the New World, women were scarce so they were given vital roles and prestige. They called it the Golden Age of Women.
• Life in early colonies was hard so women had to take on a variety of duties to survive such as labour, construction, etc. However, as time passed, women took on more traditional roles such as taking care of the farm and raising children.
• In the 17th century, the women in the colonies carried out a variety of tasks. As a result, gender roles were rather fluid early on. Women worked as nurses, midwives, and even arrived to America as indentured servants during this century.
• By the 18th century, the colonies had become well-established and so did typical gender roles. 18th century America was a patriarchal society where women were relegated to the private sphere. Some women did own businesses but they were largely expected to work at home.
• Not all women were the same in the colonies. Wealthy European women and wives of Southern plantation owners enjoyed considerable freedom. Although their lifestyle was centered around the house, they still managed slaves and servants.
• Legal Rights of Colonial Women:
  • no right to vote
  • no right to hold public office
  • right to a will (single only)
  • right to property (single only)
  • they had the right to sue or be sued (single only)
  • a widow received one-third interest in the personal property of her deceased husband (one-half if there were no children)
  • married women could not buy property, make a will or be sued. She had virtually no legal standing.
• The worst of the bunch in the colonies, however, were the African American women. Not only were they colonial women with limited rights, they were also slaves. Slave women had multiple responsibilities and zero freedom. They took care of their owner’s family, their owner’s house and at the end of the day, their own family and small dwellings.

The Modern Era (1800-Present Day)

• In the 19th and 20th century, women began demanding more and more rights. These demands are categorized in largely three time periods: the first wave of feminism, the second wave of feminism and the third wave of feminism.
• The demand for women’s suffrage began in the 1840s. The Seneca Falls Convention (1848), the first women’s rights convention, demanded suffrage for women. The convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments which expressed that women and men were equal.
• In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) with Susan B. Anthony as its leading force, was created.
• After a hard-fought series of votes in the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, the Nineteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution in 1920. It states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
• In Pakistan, the constitution promises to not discriminate on the basis of sex.
• When Malaysia got freedom from British colonialists, they gave rights to women in 1957.
• Modernization Theory and Women: The theory states as nations develop, economic development and social change would lead to democracy. That, in turn, would lead to women getting rights and opportunities which would improve their lives.