But where do these differences come from? One can wonder why the status of women deviated from equality the way it did. What process led to patriarchy? It is this essay’s object than to address this question.

Hunter gatherers adopted the first form of human food source and consequently developed the first societal organization. Food source/production and societal organization go hand in hand as they serve each other. In other words, societal organization depends on the type of food source, and the chosen food source depends on societal organization.

thering, being the first type of human lifestyle, developed the very first societal organization. In this organization, women had equal (if not superior sometimes) roles in hunter gatherer societies than men did. There are three distinct reasons for this, and depend entirely on the intrinsic lifestyle of hunter gatherers and their type of food source. The small clans of hunter gatherer society were the fundamental and only unit of the societal organization, and therefore women, as well as every one else, were indispensable in their task. Because of this, men and women worked together equally; the men hunted and made tools, and the women mainly gathered vegetables and other plants and fruits.

In Mesopotamia, women were entirely subject to men’s will and inferior. No artistic expressions were used to portray women, their beauty, or other qualities. In Hammurabi’s code of law, however, certain fundamental rights were given to women like the right to divorce, or the right to defend themselves against defamation.

Nevertheless, women were always subject to patriarchy, were considered inferior to men, and had to serve their masculine counterpart.

In Egypt, as in the Indus valley, respect was given to women. In Egypt, women were admired for their beauty and even ruled the empire from time to time. Nefertiti and Cleopatra are its witness, and art was

Some topics in this essay:
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