WOMEN IN MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

Abstract

The ancient Mesopotamia had ancient civilizations such as Babylonian and Sumerian, which provided many civilizational achievements, such as laws and legislation, which urged respect for women's rights and other legislations to protect such laws, such as the reforms of Prince Urkagina and the law of Hammurabi, which emphasis on some women's rights and dignity and curb violations of men's abuse. However, in most agricultural civilizations, especially the Mesopotamian, the status of women has declined in a patriarchal society. Men direct all aspects of life with their different diversities, make major decisions, and women have to obey this masculine authority. Father, or husband after marriage and family formation. Despite this, the status of women in Mesopotamia was much better than that of other ancient civilizations such as Greek and the Roman. Sumerian women had more rights than women had in the Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian cultures. A Sumerian woman can own real estate, run a business alongside her husband, and can be a priest, a writer, a doctor,or act as a judge. It is a tribute to the representatives of the earthly Gods, and it is a source of pride for them. Service of the girls in the temples is also a pride for their fathers. Babel was unique in the way she treated women's rights and status. Babylonian society retained the traditions of the motherly era, and women often took precedence over men. Women were also allowed to enjoy different levels of independense, but they were always subject to men. The laws of Hammurabi presented first model of the laws in the entire ancient world. The status of women in the old Babylonian law has reached an important amount of social, human and legislative progress. Legislation on marriage, its forms, divorce, cases, abuse and marital irregularities, incest and adultery. As for the status of women in the Assyrians, their social status has declined compared to their status in the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations. They were considered to be the property of men, and they have the right to deprive them of everything they own. Assyrians were also among the oldest religious peoples who subjected women to hijab and included head and face jackets. Only free women were permitted to wear headscarves, while odalisque wore hijab when they went out with their master.