Editing Women's rights (section)

=== Ancient history ===

==== Mesopotamia ====

[[File:Disk of Enheduanna (2).jpg|thumb|Ancient [[Sumer]]ian bas-relief portrait depicting the poet [[Enheduanna]]]]

Women in ancient [[Sumer]] could buy, own, sell, and inherit property.<ref name=Kramer1963>{{citation|last1=Kramer|first1=Samuel Noah|title=The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character|year=1963|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-0-226-45238-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu/page/78 78]|url=https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu/page/78}}</ref> They could engage in commerce,<ref name=Kramer1963/> and testify in court as witnesses.<ref name=Kramer1963/> Nonetheless, their husbands could [[divorce]] them for mild infractions,<ref name=Kramer1963/> and a divorced husband could easily remarry another woman, provided that his first wife had borne him no offspring.<ref name=Kramer1963/> Female deities, such as [[Inanna]], were widely worshipped.<ref name=Nemet1998>{{citation|last=Nemet-Nejat|first=Karen Rhea|author-link=Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat|year=1998|title=Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia|publisher=Greenwood|isbn=978-0313294976|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie00neme}}</ref>{{rp|182}} The [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] poet [[Enheduanna]], the priestess of Inanna, is the earliest known poet whose name has been recorded.<ref>{{cite book|last=Binkley|first=Roberta|year=2004|title=Rhetoric before and beyond the Greeks|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791460993|page=47|chapter=Reading the Ancient Figure of Enheduanna}}</ref> 

[[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian]] law codes permitted a husband to divorce his wife under any circumstances,<ref name=Nemet1998/>{{rp|140}} but doing so required him to return all of her property and sometimes pay her a fine.<ref name=Nemet1998/>{{rp|140}} Most law codes forbade a woman to request her husband for a divorce and enforced the same penalties on a woman asking for divorce{{Undue weight inline|date=October 2024}} as on a woman caught in the act of [[adultery]].<ref name=Nemet1998/>{{rp|140}} Some Babylonian and [[Assyria]]n laws, however, afforded women the same right to divorce as men, requiring them to pay the same fine.<ref name=Nemet1998/>{{rp|140}} The majority of [[East Semitic]] deities were male.<ref name=Nemet1998/>{{rp|179}}
==== Egypt ====
{{Main|Women in ancient Egypt}}

[[File:Hatshepsut.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of the female pharaoh [[Hatshepsut]] on display at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|144x144px]]

In ancient Egypt, women enjoyed the same rights under the law as a man, however rightful entitlements depended upon [[social class]]. Landed property descended in the female line from mother to daughter, and women were entitled to administer their own property. Women in ancient Egypt could buy, sell, be a partner in [[legal contract]]s, be executors in wills and witnesses to legal documents, bring court action, and adopt children.<ref>{{cite news|author=Joshua J. Mark |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/623/ |title=Women in Ancient Egypt |newspaper=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |date = 4 November 2016|access-date=26 July 2017}}</ref>

==== India ====
{{Main|Women in India}}

Women during the early [[Vedic period]]<ref name="infochange_women">{{cite news | last = Madhok | first = Sujata |title=Women: Background & Perspective |url=http://www.infochangeindia.org/WomenIbp.jsp |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080724121920/http://www.infochangeindia.org/WomenIbp.jsp | work = InfoChange India |archive-date=24 July 2008 | url-status = usurped |access-date=24 December 2006 }}</ref> enjoyed [[gender equality|equal status]] with men in all aspects of life.<ref name="vedam_towards_gender">{{cite book | last = Mishra | first = R. C. | title = Women in India: towards gender equality | publisher = Authorspress | location = New Delhi | year = 2006 | isbn = 9788172733063 }} [https://web.archive.org/web/20101029125524/https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no43902.htm Details.]</ref> Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as [[Patanjali]] and [[Katyayana]] suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic period.<ref>''Varttika'' by [[Katyayana]], 125, 2477</ref><ref>Comments to Ashtadhyayi 3.3.21 and 4.1.14 by [[Patanjali]]</ref> Rigvedic verses suggest that women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their own husbands in a practice called [[swayamvar]] or live-in relationship called [[Gandharva marriage]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Majumdar |first1=R.C. |last2=Pusalker |first2=A.D. |author-link1=R. C. Majumdar |year=1951 |contribution=Chapter XX: Language and literature |editor-last1=Majumdar |editor-first1=R.C. |editor-last2=Pusalker |editor-first2=A.D. |editor-link1=R. C. Majumdar |title= The history and culture of the Indian people, volume I, the Vedic age |page=394 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |location=Bombay |oclc=500545168 |title-link=The History and Culture of the Indian People }}</ref>

==== Greece ====
{{Main|Women in Greece}}

{{multiple image|align=right|total_width=300
| image1=Clothes washing Louvre G547.jpg|width1=2050|height1=1990|alt1=Photograph of a red-figure vase showing two women washing clothes
| image2=Street vendor Pan Painter MAN.jpg|width2=1750|height2=2625|alt2=Photograph of a red-figure vase showing a woman selling food
| footer=Respectable Athenian women were expected to involve themselves in domestic tasks such as washing clothes (left); in reality, many worked (right).
}}
Although most women lacked political and equal rights in the [[city states]] of ancient Greece, they enjoyed a certain freedom of movement until the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic age]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title = Women of Ancient Greece|url = https://archive.org/details/worldhistoryseri00donn_0|url-access = registration|last = Nardo|first = Don|publisher = Lucent Books|year = 2000|location = San Diego|page = [https://archive.org/details/worldhistoryseri00donn_0/page/28 28]|isbn = 9781560066460}}</ref> Records also exist of women in ancient [[Delphi]], [[Gortyn]], [[Thessaly]], [[Megara]], and [[Sparta]] owning land, the most prestigious form of [[private property]] at the time.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Gerhard| first = Ute| title = Debating women's equality: toward a feminist theory of law from a European perspective| publisher = Rutgers University Press| year = 2001| page = 33| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XMohyLfGDDsC&q=women+right+to+property| isbn = 978-0-8135-2905-9}}</ref> However, after the Archaic age, legislators began to enact laws enforcing gender segregation, resulting in decreased rights for women.<ref name=":10" />

[[Women in Classical Athens]] had no legal personhood and were assumed to be part of the ''[[oikos]]'' headed by the male ''[[Kurios|kyrios]]''. Until marriage, women were under the guardianship{{Cn|date=October 2024}} of their father or another male relative. Once married, the husband became a woman's ''kyrios''. As women were barred from conducting legal proceedings, the ''kyrios'' would do so on their behalf.<ref name="google114">{{Cite book| last = Blundell| first =Sue| title = Women in ancient Greece, Volume 1995, Part 2| publisher = Harvard University Press| year = 1995| page = 114| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xfx1VaSIOgQC&q=women+ancient+greece| isbn = 978-0-674-95473-1}}</ref> Athenian women could only acquire rights over [[property]] through gifts, dowry, and inheritance, though her ''kyrios'' had the right to dispose of a woman's property.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Blundell| first =Sue| title = Women in ancient Greece, Volume 1995, Part 2| publisher = Harvard University Press| year = 1995| page = 115| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xfx1VaSIOgQC&q=women+ancient+greece| isbn = 978-0-674-95473-1}}</ref> Athenian women could only enter into a contract worth less than the value of a "''[[medimno]]s'' of barley" (a measure of grain), allowing women to engage in petty trading.<ref name="google114"/> Women were excluded from ancient [[Athenian democracy]], both in principle and in practice. Slaves could become Athenian citizens after being freed, but no woman ever acquired citizenship in ancient Athens.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Robinson| first = Eric W.| title = Ancient Greek democracy: readings and sources| publisher = Wiley-Blackwell| year = 2004| page = 302| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Jug6crxEImIC&q=Aristophanes+ecclesiazusae+women%27s+rights| isbn = 978-0-631-23394-7 }}</ref>

In [[classical Athens]] women were also barred from becoming poets, scholars, politicians, or artists.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|url = http://digitalcommons.apus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=saberandscroll|title = Social and Political Roles of Women in Athens and Sparta|last = Pry|first = Kay O|year = 2012|journal = Sabre and Scroll |volume=1 |issue=2|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170513082146/http://digitalcommons.apus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=saberandscroll|archive-date = 13 May 2017|url-status = dead}}</ref> During the [[Hellenistic period]] in Athens, the philosopher [[Aristotle]] thought that women would bring disorder and evil, therefore it was best to keep women separate from the rest of the society. This separation would entail living in a room called a ''[[gynaeceum|gynaikeion]]'', while looking after the duties in the home and having very little exposure to the male world. This was also to ensure that wives only had legitimate children from their husbands. Athenian women received little education, except home tutorship for basic skills such as spinning, weaving, cooking, and some knowledge of money.<ref name=":0" />

Although [[Spartan]] women were formally excluded from military and political life, an extremely small group enjoyed considerable status as mothers of Spartan warriors. As men engaged in military activity, women took responsibility for running estates. Following protracted warfare in the 4th century&nbsp;BC, Spartan women owned approximately between 35% and 40% of all Spartan land and property.<ref name="Pomeroy" /><ref>{{Cite book| last = Tierney| first = Helen| title = Women's studies encyclopaedia, Volume 2| publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group| year = 1999| pages = 609–10| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2bDxJW3x4f8C&q=spartan+women| isbn = 978-0-313-31072-0}}</ref> By the Hellenistic Period, some of the wealthiest Spartans were women.<ref>Pomeroy, Sarah B. ''Spartan Women''. Oxford University Press, 2002. p. 137 [https://books.google.com/books?id=c3k2AN1GulYC&q=ethnicity]</ref> Spartan women controlled their own properties, as well as the properties of male relatives who were away with the army.<ref name="Pomeroy">[[Sarah B. Pomeroy|Pomeroy, Sarah B.]] ''Goddess, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity''. New York: Schocken Books, 1975. pp. 60–62.</ref> But despite relatively greater [[freedom of movement]] for Spartan women, their role in politics was the same as Athenian women.<ref name=":0" />

[[Plato]] acknowledged that extending [[civil and political rights]] to women would substantively alter the nature of the household and the state.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Robinson| first = Eric W.| title = Ancient Greek democracy: readings and sources| publisher = Wiley-Blackwell| year = 2004| page = 300| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Jug6crxEImIC&q=Aristophanes+ecclesiazusae+women%27s+rights| isbn = 978-0-631-23394-7 }}</ref> [[Aristotle]] denied that women were slaves or subject to property, arguing that "nature has distinguished between the female and the slave", but he considered wives to be "bought". He argued that women's main economic activity is that of safeguarding the household property created by men. According to Aristotle, the labour of women added no value because "the art of household management is not identical with the art of getting wealth, for the one uses the material which the other provides".<ref>{{Cite book| last = Gerhard| first = Ute| title = Debating women's equality: toward a feminist theory of law from a European perspective| publisher = Rutgers University Press| year = 2001| pages = 32–35| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XMohyLfGDDsC&q=women+right+to+property| isbn = 978-0-8135-2905-9}}</ref>

Contrary to Plato's views, the [[Stoicism|Stoic philosophers]] argued for equality of the sexes, sexual inequality being in their view contrary to the laws of nature.<ref name="Colish">{{cite book |title=The Stoic Tradition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: Stoicism in classical Latin literature |last=Colish |first=Marcia L. |author-link=Marcia Colish |year=1990 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-09327-0 |pages=37–38  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WY-2MeZqoK0C&q=stoics%2Bslavery&pg=PA36}}</ref> In doing so, they followed the [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynics]], who argued that men and women should wear the same clothing and receive the same kind of education. They also saw marriage as a moral companionship between equals rather than a biological or social necessity. The Stoics adopted the views of the Cynics and added them to their own theories of human nature, thus putting their sexual egalitarianism on a strong philosophical basis.<ref name="Colish"/>

==== Rome ====
{{Further|Women in ancient Rome}}
[[File: Pompeii - Fullonica of Veranius Hypsaeus 2 - MAN.jpg|thumb|right|Women working alongside a man at a dye shop (''fullonica''), on a wall painting from Pompeii]]
Roman law was created by men in favor of men.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book|title = The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Se|last = Smith|first = Bonnie G|publisher = Oxford University Press|year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-19-514890-9|location = London, UK|pages = [https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/422 422–25]|url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/422}}</ref> Women had no public voice and no public role, which only improved after the 1st century to the 6th century BCE.<ref name=":1">[[A. N. Sherwin-White]], ''Roman Citizenship'' (Oxford University Press, 1979), pp. 211, 268; Bruce W. Frier and Thomas A. J. McGinn, ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 31–32, 457, ''et passim''.</ref> Freeborn women of [[ancient Rome]] were [[Roman citizenship|citizens]] who enjoyed legal privileges and protections that did not extend to [[peregrinus (Roman)|non-citizens]] or [[slavery in ancient Rome|slaves]]. [[Social class in ancient Rome|Roman society]], however, was [[patriarchal]], and women could not vote, hold [[Roman magistrate|public office]], or serve in the military.<ref>Sherwin-White (1979), ''Roman Citizenship'', pp. 211 and 268; Frier and McGinn (2004), ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'', pp. 31–32, 457, ''et passim''.</ref> Women of the upper classes exercised political influence through marriage and motherhood. During the [[Roman Republic]], the mothers [[Cornelia Africana|of the Gracchus brothers]] and [[Aurelia Cotta|of Julius Caesar]] were noted as exemplary women who advanced the careers of their sons. During the [[Roman Empire|Imperial period]], women of the emperor's family could acquire considerable political power and were regularly depicted in official art and on coinage.<ref>Walter Eck, "The Emperor and His Advisors", ''Cambridge Ancient History'' (Cambridge University History, 2000), p. 211.</ref>

The central core of Roman society was the ''[[pater familias]]'' or the male head of the household who exercised his authority over all his children, servants, and wife.<ref name=":04"/> Girls had equal inheritance rights with boys if their father died without leaving a will.<ref name="David Johnston 1999 p. 134">David Johnston, ''Roman Law in Context'' (Cambridge University Press, 1999), chapter 3.3; Frier and McGinn (2004), '' A Casebook on Roman Family Law'', Chapter IV; Yan Thomas, "The Division of the Sexes in Roman Law", in ''A History of Women from Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints'' (Harvard University Press, 1991), p. 134.</ref> Roman women had a guardian (called "tutor") who managed and oversaw all her activity.<ref name=":04"/> This tutelage had limited female activity but by the first century to sixth century BCE, tutelage became very relaxed and women were accepted to participate in more public roles such as owning and managing property or acting as municipal patrons for gladiator games and other entertainment activities<ref name=":04"/> Childbearing was encouraged by the state. By 27–14 BCE the ''ius tritium liberorum'' ("legal right of three children") granted symbolic honors and legal privileges to a woman who had given birth to three children and freed her from any male guardianship.<ref>Yan Thomas, "The Division of the Sexes in Roman Law", in ''A History of Women from Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints'' (Harvard University Press, 1991), p. 133.</ref>

In the earliest period of the Roman Republic, a bride passed from her father's control into the "hand" ''(manus)'' of her husband. She then became subject to her husband's ''potestas'', though to a lesser degree than their children.<ref>Frier and McGinn (2004), ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'', p. 20.</ref> This archaic form of ''manus'' marriage was largely abandoned by the time of [[Julius Caesar]], when a woman remained under her father's authority by law even when she moved into her husband's home. This arrangement was one of the factors in the independence Roman women enjoyed.<ref>[[Eva Cantarella]], ''Pandora's Daughters: The Role and Status of Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987), pp. 140–41; J.P. Sullivan, "Martial's Sexual Attitudes", ''Philologus'' 123 (1979), p. 296, specifically on sexual freedom.</ref>

Although women had to answer to their fathers in legal matters, they were free of his direct scrutiny in their daily lives,<ref>Beryl Rawson, "The Roman Family", in ''The Family in Ancient Rome: New Perspectives'' (Cornell University Press, 1986), p. 15.</ref> and their husbands had no legal power over them.<ref>Frier and McGinn (2004), ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'', pp. 19–20, 22.</ref> When a woman's father died, she became legally emancipated ''([[sui iuris]])''. A married woman retained ownership of any [[property]] she brought into the marriage.<ref name="autogenerated19">Frier and McGinn (2004), ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'', pp. 19–20.</ref> Girls had equal inheritance rights with boys if their father died without leaving a will.<ref name="David Johnston 1999 p. 134"/> Under classical [[Roman law]], a husband had no right to abuse his wife physically or compel her to have sex.<ref>Frier and McGinn (2004), ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'', p. 95.</ref> Wife beating was sufficient grounds for divorce or other legal action against the husband.<ref>Garrett G. Fagan, "Violence in Roman Social Relations", in ''The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations'' (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 487.</ref>

Because of their legal status as citizens and the degree to which they could become emancipated, women in ancient Rome could own property, enter contracts, and engage in business.<ref>Frier and McGinn (2004), ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law,'' p. 461; W.V. Harris, "Trade", in ''The Cambridge Ancient History: The High Empire A.D. 70–192'' (Cambridge University Press, 2000), vol. 11, p. 733.</ref> Some acquired and disposed of sizable fortunes, and are recorded in inscriptions as benefactors in funding major public works.<ref>Woodhull, Margaret L., "Matronly Patrons in the Early Roman Empire: The Case of Salvia Postuma", in ''Women's Influence on Classical Civilization'' (Routledge, 2004), p. 77.</ref> Roman women could appear in court and argue cases, though it was customary for them to be represented by a man.<ref>Bauman, Richard A., ''Women and Politics in Ancient Rome'' (Routledge, 1992, 1994), p. 50.</ref> They were simultaneously disparaged as too ignorant and weak-minded to practice law, and as too active and influential in legal matters—resulting in an edict that limited women to conducting cases on their own behalf instead of others'.<ref>Bauman, ''Women and Politics'', pp. 50–51; Juvenal, ''Satire'' 6, on women busy in the courts.</ref> But even after this restriction was put in place, there are numerous examples of women taking informed actions in legal matters, including dictating legal strategy to their male advocates.<ref>Bauman, ''Women and Politics'', pp. 51–52.</ref>

Roman law recognized [[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Rape|rape]] as a crime in which the victim bore no guilt<ref>Staples, Ariadne, ''From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion'' (Routledge, 1998), pp. 81–82; Jane F. Gardner, ''Women in Roman Law and Society'' (Indiana University Press, 1991), pp. 118ff. Roman law also recognized [[Sexuality in ancient Rome#The rape of men|rape committed against males]].</ref> and a capital crime.<ref>[[Amy Richlin|Richlin, Amy]], "Not before Homosexuality: The Materiality of the ''cinaedus'' and the Roman Law against Love between Men", ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'' 3.4 (1993), pp. 562–63.</ref> The rape of a woman was considered an attack on her family and father's honour, and rape victims were shamed for allowing the bad name in her father's honour.<ref name=":04" /> As a matter of law, rape could be committed only against a citizen in good standing. The rape of a slave could be prosecuted only as damage to her owner's property.<ref>Under the ''[[Lex Aquilia]];'' Thomas A. J. McGinn, ''Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome'' (Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 314; Gardner, ''Women in Roman Law and Society'', p. 119.</ref>

[[File:Bronze young girl reading CdM Paris.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Bronze statuette of a young woman reading (latter 1st century)]]
The first [[Roman emperor]], [[Augustus]], framed his ascent to sole power as a return to [[Mos maiorum|traditional morality]], and attempted to regulate the conduct of women through [[Leges Iuliae|moral legislation]]. [[Marriage in ancient Rome#Adultery|Adultery]], which had been a private family matter under the Republic, was criminalized,<ref>Beth Severy, ''Augustus and the Family at the Birth of the Empire'' (Routledge, 2002; Taylor & Francis, 2004), p. 4.</ref> and defined broadly as an illicit sex act ''([[stuprum]])'' that occurred between a male citizen and a married woman, or between a married woman and any man other than her husband. Therefore, a married woman could have sex only with her husband, but a married man did not commit adultery when he had sex with a prostitute, [[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Master-slave relations|slave]], or person of marginalized status ''([[infamia|infamis]])''.<ref>Thomas McGinn, "Concubinage and the Lex Iulia on Adultery", ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 121 (1991), p. 342; Nussbaum, "The Incomplete Feminism of Musonius Rufus", p. 305, noting that custom "allowed much latitude for personal negotiation and gradual social change"; [[Elaine Fantham]], "''Stuprum'': Public Attitudes and Penalties for Sexual Offences in Republican Rome", in ''Roman Readings: Roman Response to Greek Literature from Plautus to Statius and Quintilian'' (Walter de Gruyter, 2011), p. 124, citing [[Papinian]], ''De adulteriis'' I and [[Modestinus]], ''Liber Regularum'' I. [[Eva Cantarella]], ''Bisexuality in the Ancient World'' (Yale University Press, 1992, 2002, originally published 1988 in Italian), p. 104; Catherine Edwards, ''The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome'' (Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 34–35.</ref> Most [[prostitution in ancient Rome|prostitutes in ancient Rome]] were slaves, though some slaves were protected from forced prostitution by a clause in their sales contract.<ref>McGinn, ''Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law'', pp. 288ff.</ref> A free woman who worked as a prostitute or entertainer lost her social standing and became ''[[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Pleasure and infamy|infamis]]'', "disreputable"; by making her body publicly available, she had in effect surrendered her right to be protected from sexual abuse or physical violence.<ref>Gardner, ''Women in Roman Law and Society'', p. 119; McGinn, ''Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome'', p. 326.</ref>

[[Stoicism|Stoic philosophies]] influenced the development of Roman law. Stoics of the Imperial era such as [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] and [[Musonius Rufus]] developed theories of [[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Stoic sexual morality|just relationships]]. While not advocating equality in society or under the law, they held that nature gives men and women equal capacity for virtue and equal obligations to act virtuously, and that therefore men and women had an equal need for philosophical education.<ref name="Colish"/> These philosophical trends among the ruling elite are thought to have helped improve the status of women under the Empire.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Ratnapala| first = Suri| title = Jurisprudence| publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 2009| pages =134–35 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tNwdWlXxZt8C&q=Stoic+law+women| isbn = 978-0-521-61483-2 }}</ref> Rome had no system of state-supported schooling, and education was available only to those who could pay for it. The daughters of [[Ordo senatorius|senators and knights]] seem to have regularly received a primary education (for ages 7 to 12).<ref>[[Marietta Horster]], "Primary Education", in ''The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World'' (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 90.</ref> Regardless of gender, few people were educated beyond that level. Girls from a modest background might be schooled in order to help with the family business or to acquire literacy skills that enabled them to work as scribes and secretaries.<ref>Beryl Rawson, ''Children and Childhood in Roman Italy'' (Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 80.</ref> The woman who achieved the greatest prominence in the ancient world for her learning was [[Hypatia of Alexandria]], who taught advanced courses to young men and advised the Roman [[prefect of Egypt]] on politics.<ref>Morgan, Teresa, "Education", in ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome'' (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 20.</ref>

[[File:Dextrorum iunctio edited.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|Couple clasping hands in marriage, idealized by Romans as the building block of society and as a partnership of companions who work together to produce and rear children, manage everyday affairs, lead exemplary lives, and enjoy affection<ref>[[Martha C. Nussbaum|Nussbaum, Martha C.]], "The Incomplete Feminism of Musonius Rufus, Platonist, Stoic, and Roman", in ''The Sleep of Reason: Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome'' (University of Chicago Press, 2002), p. 300; Sabine MacCormack, "Sin, Citizenship, and the Salvation of Souls: The Impact of Christian Priorities on Late-Roman and Post-Roman Society", ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 39.4 (1997), p. 651.</ref>]]

==== Byzantine Empire ====
{{Further|Women in the Byzantine Empire}}
Since Byzantine law was essentially based on Roman law, the legal status of women did not change significantly from the practices of the 6th century. But the traditional restriction of women in public life as well as the hostility against independent women still continued.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title = The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Set|last = Smith|first = Bonnie G|publisher = Oxford University Press|year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-19-514890-9|location = London, UK|pages = [https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/440 440–42]|url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/440}}</ref> Greater influence of Greek culture contributed to strict attitudes about women's roles being domestic instead of being public.<ref name=":2" /> There was also a growing trend of women who were not prostitutes, slaves or entertainers to be entirely veiled.<ref name=":2" /> Like previous Roman law, women could not be legal witnesses, hold administrations or run banking but they could still inherit properties and own land.<ref name=":2" />

As a rule, the influence of the church was exercised in favor of the abolition of the disabilities imposed by the older law upon celibacy and childlessness, of increased facilities for entering a professed religious life, and of due provision for the wife. The church also supported the political power of those who were friendly toward the clergy. The appointment of mothers and grandmothers as tutors was sanctioned by Justinian.{{Cn|date=October 2024}}

The restrictions on the marriage of senators and other men of high rank with women of low rank were extended by [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]], but it was almost entirely removed by [[Justinian I|Justinian]]. Second marriages were discouraged, especially by making it legal to impose a condition that a widow's right to property should cease on remarriage, and the Leonine Constitutions at the end of the 9th century made third marriages punishable.{{Cn|date=October 2024}} The same constitutions made the benediction of a priest a necessary part of the ceremony of marriage.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Women |volume= 23 | pages = 782–788; see page 783 |quote= The chief differences between canon and Roman law were in the law of marriage... The benediction of a priest was made a necessary part of the ceremony}}</ref>

==== China ====
{{Main|Women in ancient and imperial China|Women in China}}
[[File:Bound feet (X-ray).jpg|thumb|right|[[Foot binding]], a practice commonly inflicted on [[Women in China|Chinese women]] between the 10th century and the early 20th century. The image shows an X-ray of two bound feet.]]
Women throughout historical and ancient China were considered inferior and had subordinate legal status based on [[Confucianism|Confucian law]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title = The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: 4 Volume Set|last = Smith|first = Bonnie G|publisher = Oxford University Press|year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-19-514890-9|location = London, UK|pages = [https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/426 426–27]|url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/426}}</ref> In Imperial China, the "[[Three Obediences and Four Virtues|Three Obediences]]" promoted daughters to obey their fathers, wives to obey their husbands, and widows to obey their sons. Women could not inherit businesses or wealth<ref name=":5" /> and men had to adopt a son for such financial purposes.<ref name=":5" /> Late imperial law also featured seven different types of divorces. A wife could be ousted if she failed to birth a son, committed adultery, disobeyed her parents-in-law, spoke excessively, stole, was given to bouts of jealousy, or suffered from an incurable or loathsome disease or disorder.<ref name=":5" /> But there were also limits for the husband – for example, he could not divorce if she observed her parents-in-law's mourning sites, if she had no family to return to, or if the husband's family used to be poor and since then had become richer.<ref name=":5" />

Confucian thinking relegated women in China to subordinate roles and [[foot binding]] left them homemakers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FlorCruz |first=Jaime A. |date=2012-06-15 |title=Chinese women push for a place in space |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/world/asia/china-women-space/index.html |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> About 45% of Chinese women had bound feet in the 19th century. For the upper classes, it was almost 100%. In 1912, the Chinese government ordered the cessation of foot-binding. Foot-binding involved the alteration of the bone structure so that the feet were only about four inches long. The bound feet caused difficulty in movement, thus greatly limiting the activities of women.{{Cn|date=October 2024}}

Due to the social custom that men and women should not be near each other, the women of China were reluctant to be treated by male doctors of Western Medicine. This resulted in a tremendous need for female doctors of Western Medicine in China. Thus, female medical missionary Mary H. Fulton<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04TOSAAACAAJ |title=Inasmuch |author=Mary H. Fulton|editor=The United Study of Forring |publisher=BiblioBazaar |year=2010 |isbn=978-1140341796 }}</ref> was sent by the Foreign Missions Board of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to found the first medical college for women in China. Known as the Hackett Medical College for Women (夏葛女子醫學院),<ref>{{cite web |author=PANG Suk Man |url=http://lib-nt2.hkbu.edu.hk/cil-image/theses/abstracts/b15564174a.pdf |title=The Hackett Medical College for Women in China (1899–1936) |publisher=Hong Kong Baptist University |date=February 1998 |access-date=10 October 2015 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016090221/http://lib-nt2.hkbu.edu.hk/cil-image/theses/abstracts/b15564174a.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cqvip.com/qk/83891A/200203/6479902.html |title=中国近代第一所女子医学院－－夏葛医学院-【维普网】-仓储式在线作品出版平台-www.cqvip.com |publisher=Cqvip.com |access-date=9 December 2013}}</ref> the college was aimed at the spreading of Christianity and modern medicine and the elevation of Chinese women's social status.<ref name="RebeccaChan">Rebecca Chan Chung, Deborah Chung and Cecilia Ng Wong, "Piloted to Serve", 2012.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=纪念钟陈可慰 100 周年 (1920–2020)|url=http://www.cnac.org/rebeccachan_piloted_to_serve_01.pdf|access-date=2020-10-09}}</ref>

During the [[Republic of China (1912–49)]] and earlier Chinese governments, women were legally bought and sold into slavery under the guise of domestic servants. These women were known as [[Mui Tsai]]. The lives of Mui Tsai were recorded by American feminist [[Agnes Smedley]] in her book ''Portraits of Chinese Women in Revolution''.<ref>Parts of this book are available online here [https://archive.org/details/portraitsofchine00smed <!-- quote=Portraits of Chinese Women in Revolution. -->], at Google Books.</ref>

However, in 1949 the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] was overthrown by communist guerillas led by [[Mao Zedong]], and the [[People's Republic of China]] was founded in the same year. In May 1950 the People's Republic of China enacted the [[New Marriage Law]] to tackle the sale of women into slavery. This outlawed marriage by proxy and made marriage legal so long as both partners consent. The New Marriage Law raised the legal age of marriage to 20 for men and 18 for women. This was an essential part of countryside land reform as women could no longer legally be sold to landlords. The official slogan was "Men and women are equal; everyone is worth his (or her) salt".<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=The Developing Economies|volume=48|number=2|date=June 2010|page=B5|first=Noboro|last=Niida|title=Land Reform and New Marriage Law in China|url=http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Periodicals/De/pdf/64_01_01.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403010912/http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Periodicals/De/pdf/64_01_01.pdf|archive-date=3 April 2012}}</ref>