The roles and status of ancient Egyptian women of the pharaonic period

Uncovering the great mysteries of ancient Egypt is no easy task. Scholars studying this period must often take the flimsiest evidence available to them in order to try to re-create this civilization. Considering the dearth of evidence available, it becomes necessary to conjecture about the functions of ancient Egyptian society---more specifically, the roles and status of Egyptian women. Recently, certain scholars who have written extensively about ancient Egyptian women (and who will be mentioned in this study) have agreed on one common thesis: that certain women in ancient Egypt had a higher degree of rights and privileges in comparison to most other women in the Ancient Near East and Classical worlds. This study seeks to reevaluate the aforementioned thesis by examining this fragmentary evidence available in order to ascertain the true roles and statuses of ancient Egyptian women vis-a-vis the women of other societies of antiquity.