VI. CHANGES AND CONTINUITIES IN THE ROLE OF WOMEN

An unfortunate fact of sedentary societies is that women lose power as people settle down, and women’s roles in high status food-production became more limited. But women maintained power within the private sphere—by managing their households and taking responsibility for children’s education, wives and mothers were often the unrecognized power behind the throne.

Although all of the early civilizations were decidedly patriarchal, women’s freedoms differed depending on social status and class. Upper-class or elite women were more restricted in their public appearances, while lower-class women, peasants, and female slaves continued to work outside the home. Public veiling of upper-class women appears as early as the Babylonian Empire and is widespread by Greek and Roman times.

Cultural and religious values also impacted the status of women. In both Buddhism and Christianity, women were considered equals in their ability to achieve salvation or nirvana. In both religions, women could choose to remove themselves from traditional roles to become nuns and live separate from society in convents. Hinduism and Confucianism were much more structured and restricted. A Hindu woman could not read the sacred Vedas or participate in the prayers, and could not reach moksha in her lifetime. Daoism in China promoted a balance of male and female, but as Confucianism came to dominate, men were clearly considered superior to women. Under Confucian rule, some education was open to a large percentage of the female population, as it was believed they needed to be taught “proper” behavior and virtues.