What Is Hammurabi Women's Role In Society

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The Babylonian king Hammurabi created the first and most in-depth written laws set in place in 1792 to 1750 B.C. His code included 282 laws and standards involving commercial interactions and placed fines and punishments to meet these laws. At the end of Hammurabi’s reign, his code was carved onto a finger-shaped black stone pillar, which was lost until 1901 when a French archaeological team found it in Iran. The Hammurabi Code stresses the key points of how social class is more important than individual rights of both men and women, women sacrifice sexuality for legitimacy, and the social status of women compared to other ancient civilizations. Women’s role in Mesopotamia was dramatically changed when Hammurabi’s Code set in place. It was made clear that men had more rights than women in society, but for the first time, women’s rights were being protected to a certain standard. The…show more content…
Cara Abraham, author of “Women’s Roles in China”, states that, “To make a daughter more desirable to a potential spouse, her feet were broken and bound to produce three to four inch stubs suitable only for teetering around the house (Abraham)”. Women from richer families were subordinate to men and peasant women, in protest, practiced binding their feet symbolize the constraints of female roles. During the Imperial period, Confucian teachings were followed in which it called for a matchmaker, and ceremony for every marriage. Ancient Romans believed that both men and women were created from Earth and water. Although created equally, Romans believed that women possessed weak judgment and are inept to run a business. Mark Cartwright, author of, “Women in the Roman World”, explains Roman law for women owning a business, “this rule which allowed women to inherit and own but not control property was that they were thought incapable of managing such affairs for themselves
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