Running Head: IMAGINE YOURSELF TO BE 1

M1 Discussion 1: Imagine Yourself To Be

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IMAGINE YOURSELF TO BE 2

DRAFT PROPOSAL

IMAGINE YOURSELF TO BE

Women in Mesopotamia had a lower status than men, and their roles were mainly as

wives, mothers, and housekeepers. Women were subject to the authority of men, whether their

fathers and husbands. The Hammurabi Law Code highlighted that women were treated as the

property of their fathers or husbands and when they died, the dowry paid passed to her male

relatives. If women left their marriages, the settlement that the husband had given her father

passed to the sons. Even though there were some protections for women, it was assumed that

husbands possessed their wives.

The woman living in Mesopotamia had strict and defined roles, but this less is less so in

my experience. Slave women lived more restricted lifestyles than male slaves, even as the latter

was not allowed to marry a freedwoman. Women living in Mesopotamia often encountered

marriage arrangements that restricted their role in marriage and society (Hist &116). A modern

woman is less bound by traditional marriage arrangements.

There are still gender roles and expectations that women's roles are closely linked with

nurturing and the homestead. Modern women are also expected to be nurturing, and while this is

a positive experience, it restricts women to the roles of wives and mothers. Men were the heads

of the households in the past, and while this somewhat changed, they are still the heads in many

households.

Much of what we know about women in Mesopotamia is written, but there is no

information on their daily lives and how social relations influenced them. There are different
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avenues for everyone to express their opinion, and in the west, people make choices without

government interference. Women in Mesopotamia followed strictly laid down rules and laws,

and it is likely they did not see the norms, values, and culture as oppressive (Johnson, 2010). My

understanding of the woman’s experience is based on what is written and said about

Mesopotamian society.
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References

Cf. The Role of Women (Source - Hist&116 OER in HIST&116_Materials Audit)

The role of Women in Babylonia Under the Hammurabi Law Code (Johnson, J. C., 2010)